Love Isn't Just A Word
by Inuyasha4eva
Summary: OuranXNaruto. Tamaki is leaving for a while, but he needs someone to protect his precious 'daughter', Haruhi. Who is up for the job? And furthemore, who is the perfect match of love for Haruhi?
1. Tamaki's Leaving?

Low chattering was heard throughout the third music room. Guests were being happily hosted by the boy of their choosing. It was a rare occasion that the room was so normal, usually by now the king would've broken off from his hosting to start ranting about something or another Haruhi did. To most everyone's surprise the king had other business to attend to and could not make it. Thus, the reason for the awkwardly silent atmosphere.

That lasted about five seconds.

"Haruhi! Haruhi!" so much for the nice afternoon. "Haruhi, Haruhi!" the voice called again. It was none other than the Host king himself. The blond threw open the huge double doors to the music room.

"I have great news!" he exclaimed. He was happy; he was excited, and slipped on the floor. Haruhi sighed and went over to ask if he was okay. The twins snickered mercilessly. Tamaki leapt up and embraced his 'daughter' who took the gesture apathetically.

Tamaki grabbed her shoulders seriously, "Haruhi you have nothing to worry about!" Then he proceeded to waltz out of the room; the twins tripped him before his exit (because it was funny). Haruhi was confused, but put the incidence out of her mind. This was Tamaki, it was better not to think about what Tamaki did. He was easier to deal with that way.

After a few minutes had passed, the girls the host club had been serving filtered out of the room. As the last waved happily good-bye, the third music hall door shut closed. The room grew quiet again.

"Kyoya," Honey-Sempai began as he took his last bite of strawberry cake, "What did Tamaki mean when he said Haruhi has nothing to worry about?"

The more reserved f the Host Club members sat up straighter in his seat and snapped his black folder shut. Kyoya slowly stood up from his chair, while he pushed the glasses further up the bridge of his nose. Walking towards the rest of the group, he cleared his throat.

"I am not entirely sure of what 'our king' is doing, but I assure you that whatever Tamaki has planned was not of my doing," Kyoya said coolly. The way Kyoya had said 'was not of my doing' proved to have a chilling effect over the host club members. Everyone knew of their secret shadow king, so the thought of Tamaki doing something without Kyoya's guiding hand made them un-easy. Who knew what Tamaki was capable of?

If anything…

"Did he give any clue to what it was?" Kaoru started, and Hikaru continued, "Everyone knows he tells you almost everything,"

Kyoya blinked and an annoyed sigh escaped his lips. Reaching under his other arm for the black folder, and then took the time to whip the black leather open. His calculating gaze fell to the papers within its bindings. Kyoya nodded his head and shut the folder again.

"Well, Tamaki did ask that I inform you of his departure. Tell Haruhi that 'Daddy will miss her'. He has to leave on a practice business venture with his father. However, the only indication that he's plotting something was the early phone-call he gave me this morning," Kyoya answered with an irritated tone. All of the males in the room had their faces begin to pale. They all knew what it was like to wake-up Kyoya. It could spell death.

"What was the phone call about?" Haruhi asked curiously. Haruhi had grown slightly more concerned with what Tamaki might be planning the more she thought about it, because it obviously had something to do with her.

"Well…He explained that 'they' would be arriving this afternoon…"

……………………………..

_Tamaki had been worrying about Haruhi ever since he saw that TV show "Hatsuhagi Ohaki", where that poor kid had been kidnapped and his parents could not pay his ransom so the kid had to stay with the bad guys and got mentally scarred._

_It hadn't bothered him too much before, because he would always be beside his precious "child". Yet, now he was going to be away! He was going to be so far from his little Haruhi! At any point in time she could be kidnapped! _

_What could he do if that happened to his precious daughter!?! He doubted that her real father would come to him for help. Her family might be under threat if something like that happened! What could he do?!?_

_Tamaki could barely concentrate as he tried to pack his suit-case for the trip. He kept thinking about his dear Haruhi. He hardly was even sleeping. He just lied there in his bed as Haruhi took up his thoughts. _

_She needed protection of some sort. Thinking back to the T.V. shows and other such things that led him to worry, his mind wandered to other things. Who would be able to protect such a wondrous person as Haruhi? He worried about it all night when finally, it hit him! He sat up in bed. _

"_Of course!" He flipped through his phone book to the "N" Section and found what he was looking for. He couldn't wait to call 'Mother' in the morning and tell him that their daughter was to be in good hands._

…………………………………

"Who are they?" Honey-Sempai asked with wide eyes. Now even Mori was paying close attention as Honey-sempai leaned further on his shoulders. During Kyoya's other explanations Honey-Sempai had grown tired and ask Mori to carry him.

"Aa" Mori asked. He too wanted to know exactly who 'they' were. He felt he should say something. Since he had been quiet most of the day so far. Honey leaned even further on Mori's shoulders, sending the taller boy in an odd stance to balance the weight.

"All the king told me on the un-godly hour this morning was that he hired some sort of protection for Haruhi while he was away," Kyoya answered, and then he seemed to have an evil gleam shine in his eye, "So Haruhi, if you have figured out anything from this information. I would say the most important is that whatever Tamaki has spent on this protection shall be put on your tab,"

Haruhi blanched as she registered the last thing Kyoya said. How much money could she possibly owe now? Her shoulders slumped and her head fell to her chest. Of course, why hadn't she expected for Kyoya to turn this into some type of money-grabbing excuse. She was doomed to host for eternity. She had to somehow get out of paying anymore money she didn't have.

"But I…" Haruhi began, but she was caught short as a loud ominous sound hushed the third music hall. Someone was knocking on the big wooden doors. Who were 'they'? And was it 'them' on the other side?

…………………………………………

_**So what do you think? Like it? R&R? This is going to be a OuranxNaruto cross-over. But, the other characters haven't made it here yet. I hope you continue to read. .**_


	2. New Arrivals

The Host-Club now stood in the Third Music Hall with bated breathes. It was strange for the group. Due to the fact, they were usually prepared for almost everything. They always had a way to know how to compose themselves for whomever walked through that very door. Even when Haruhi had walked through that door the first time they had composed themselves to fit the situation. However, this current state of affairs seemed considerably different.

"Come in…" Kyoya said simply tilting his head as he scrutinized the white doors as if trying to see through to the other side.

The loud click of the door handle seemed to be some mnemonic tool for the Host Club members, for as the sound registered in their ears each person took to their roles. Haruhi blinked as she eyed the young men around her placed on handsome smiles upon their faces and stood in cool stances, well except Kyoya. Kyoya for the most part was always Kyoya.

A lock of pink hair slipped through the crack of the door followed by nervous emerald green eyes. The host club faltered, this girl was the protection? She looked to be their age. The girl walked in further and gestured to something outside the door. Spiky blonde hair popped into view and then came striking blue eyes. Okay, now they had a guy?

"My goodness…" whispered Kaoru to Hikaru, "if are mother saw that orange jump-suit she'd probably die,"

The blonde-haired boy cracked a smile and waved at the host club, while the girl took on a slight blush and gave an annoyed look to the boy beside her. Kyoya lifted a brow, but said nothing. Haruhi blinked and then sighed. Of course, why did she think Tamaki could do anything right.

"OH!" Honey-Sempai said as he slid off Mori's shoulders and ran over to the girl with pink hair, taking the time to hold Bun-Bun up to her head, "Your hair matches my bunny!"

The faint blush on the pink-haired girl's face increased and a small smile showed on her face. The blonde-haired boys face scrunched up and he blinked at Honey-sempai, whom took bun-bun and shoved it into his face. A loud gruff "Ahem" was heard, and all the attention of the room went to Kyoya.

"Sorry to interrupt" Kyoya began, "But might I ask who graces our presence?"

The pink-haired girl looked surprised and took a minute to think before bowing. She looked up slightly with her light pink hair curtaining her face; an irritated look came to her face as her green eyes shifted to the blue-eyed blonde as he just stood there. Her eyes narrowed as she reached out a hand and gripped the back of his spiky blonde hair; and through his head forward into a bow. A "yelp" was heard from the boy as this was down.

"I'm Sakura Haruno…" the pink-hair girl said as she released her grip of the boy's head and stood up straight. Honey-sempai had stepped back from the two as they made their introductions. The rest of the Host-Club had yet to blink, for this truly was a new and strange situation to be in. The blonde-hair boy rubbed the back of his head, before sending a pointed glare at the girl. He then turned his attention to the rest of the group.

"AND I'M NARUTO UZAMAKI THE NEXT HOKAGE!" the boy yelled boisterously. Sakura sighed at her loud friend, and then proceeded to actually take the time to truly focus on the group of people in front of her. A breath caught in her throat. They were simply gorgeous. And some of them looked completely bewildered…

"So, did Tamaki send you?" Haruhi asked as she studied the new arrivals, while Mori went "Aa" (he wanted to know too). They seemed to be something their king was capable of. They appeared amateurish, their age, and had fairly interesting and quirky personalities, much like the Host-Club itself.

"Oh," Sakura went before digging in a pouch by her side and pulling out a slightly crinkled piece of paper, "I'm not sure if it was this Tamaki that sent for us, but someone did ask us to come here. We are supposed to be looking after, Haruhi?"

Her answer seemed to answer the one question on everyone's mind, but raised so many others. Kyoya narrowed his eyes as his began to scrutinize the new arrivals further. Naruto looked over at Sakura as he messed around with his head-band. The poor cherry-blossom girl was to busy occupied being wary of the look on Kyoya's face to pay attention to Naruto.

Kyoya lifted his hand to his face to adjust his glasses once more, and approached Sakura and Naruto. Sakura was somewhat frightened and attracted by Kyoya as he stopped in front of her. He then took the time to rip the paper from her hand and study it for conformation.

"What organization are you from officially? And why would they only send two people, if this was such an urgent case as specified on this paper?" Kyoya began in a very formal and critical tone.

Honey-Sempai by this time had toddled back over to Mori to be carried. He was getting tired again. The twins watched the scene before them with amused expressions. The girl looked like she would be as fun to play with as Haruhi, plus the blonde-haired one looked as easy to tease as Tamaki. The twins were over-whelmed with mischievous ideas already. Haruhi looked on with a bored expression.

"Well you see we're not really with any organization per se, but we do work for our village…" Sakura said, but was interrupted by her overly exuberant team-mate.

"WE'RE NINJAS!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly still clinging to the head-band atop his head. At this time the twins took the time to burst out laughing. Tears poured out of the twin's eyes as they howled. Ninja's? This guy was a ninja?

"You guys are Ninja's?" chortled Kaoru and Hikaru cackled, "Aren't Ninja's supposed to silent and deadly!??! You guys are a joke!"

Sakura clenched her fist, but said nothing as she fumed in silence. However, Naruto took a different approach. He almost turned red in the face, as his anger boiled up. Kyoya watched in interest, while the twins laughed harder.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW!" screamed Naruto as he raised his fist in the air. Both Sakura and Haruhi put their face in their hands as they sighed. The twins calmed down in their laughter to gaze over at Naruto.

"Well we know you obviously have no fashion sense judging by that get-up you're sporting," they replied in unison before laughing again at Naruto's expense. The blue-eyed blonde almost growled. Mori blinked at the scene and Honey clutched Bun-Bun to his chest. His eyes then spotted Haruhi inching towards the door.

"Where are you going Haruhi?" asked Honey-Sempai as she almost reached the door. Everyone else was too preoccupied with the twins laughing at the now very cheesed off Naruto, that no-one else seemed to have noticed attempt at a get-away.

"I'm starting to get a head-ache, Sempai. I'm just going outside to get some fresh air," Haruhi said calmly before completely disappearing behind the door of the Third Music Hall. Mori and Honey watched the door a little longer before turning back to the people that had apparently not noticed the person in the process of being "protected" just waltzed out of the room.

"YOU GUYS HAVE NO FASHION SENSE! YOU GUYS LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME!" Naruto burst out. The twins glanced to each other with incredulous faces. The urge to laugh came again, but they held it in.

"We're twins…" they said in-sync. Sakura stifled a laugh and Kyoya seemed appalled by Naruto's complete obliviousness. However, Kyoya felt it was time to express the second part of his question again.

"As I stated before. I wish to know, why they would only send two of you." Kyoya asked. Naruto stopped yelling and looked over at Sakura who shuffled her black boots. She looked up to stare right into the lenses of Kyoya's glasses.

"Well, Naruto and I are capable of handling this kind of job fairly easily ourselves. However, we do have another member of our temporary team. You see our original team-member…went somewhere. Then his replacement was borrowed to be a replacement on another team. And then, we had someone volunteer to come with us…" Sakura answered taking the time to take breaths when needed.

"Is this volunteer qualified? And furthermore, where is he right now?" Kyoya asked. Surprisingly, it was Naruto who approached Kyoya this time, with an almost serious expression on his face. Almost…

"Well, for one thing this guy is very qualified for like a body-guard job or whatever we're doing" Naruto began as he put his hand behind his head, "Yet, he doesn't really work well with other team-mates. However, he heard we were coming over somewhere that paid well when he happened upon us in our Hokage's…err…Boss's office,"

"What Naruto is trying to say is that he is qualified, but once we arrived here…we have no idea where he went. Due to the fact, we don't usually work with him," Sakura added to Naruto's explanation. Kyoya nodded and flipped his black folder open to write some things down. He looked back up after a minute or two.

"And what is this mysterious team-mate's name?" Kyoya asked.

…………………….

Haruhi sighed again as she moved her bangs out of her face. It was slightly windy today, but she really wasn't bothered by it. Outside was ten times for quiet then the school and more importantly the Third Music Hall. She adjusted her baby-blue blazer to a more comfortable position. What seemed ironic to her about this day was that without Tamaki here, somehow things became a thousand times fore chaotic.

Haruhi trudged along the cut path of the school maze and garden. Besides the wind, it was a fairly decent day. Her eyes scanned the area before spotting a shady spot under a tree. Taking her time, she stopped in front of the tree and sat down under it.

Her back grazed against the bark of the tree, and she hoped that it wasn't ruining the jacket. She was sure that if she did ruin the jacket, Kyoya would merrily tick away at his calculator and add another eternity to her debt. On second thought, a merry Kyoya slightly bothered her.

"They're going to drive me crazy," Haruhi said tiredly. A brief serene silence followed Haruhi's comment as she sat back lazily against the tree. Then the silence broke, as a voice spoke.

"Who's going to drive you crazy?" someone asked. Haruhi blinked and looked around. Who had asked that? The voice she heard had been deep and smooth. Her eyes gazed about her again. Where had that come from?

"Hello?" tested Haruhi, as if to see if she had imagined the voice she just heard. She waited a moment for a reply before reluctantly getting up from her spot on the tree. Standing up straight, she attempted to get a better view of the garden. She walked a few steps from the tree and looked in both directions.

"Hello." The voice answered back causing Haruhi to jump. Haruhi swung herself around to face the tree she'd been leaning on. Her eyes widened a bit at the sight that faced her. There was a young-man just hanging upside down from the tree.

His hair was ashen maroon. He had amazing turquoise colored eyes, surrounded by deep circles of black. He had some large object attached to his back. And he was just hanging there. He was just hanging there, upside down with nothing to hold him to the tree limb. Of all the strange things to happen today, this by far was the strangest.

"How are you doing that?" asked Haruhi curiously. The young-man blinked and tilted his head to the side. Haruhi walked slowly closer to the tree to get a better view.

"How am I doing what?" the young-man retorted plainly in his rich deep voice. Haruhi stopped walking and stood there for a minute. She thought the answer to that question was so obvious. How was it normal for a person to hang upside down from a tree? Did this person do it so often that it was normal?

"I mean, how are you hanging upside down from the tree?" Haruhi tried again. The young-man seemed to register what Haruhi said, and appeared to be thinking of an answer. After a moment or two, he did answer.

"I have the ability to," he said with a dead-pan look in that same smooth voice. Haruhi didn't no how to react to that answer. It was a true statement. However, it was just vague enough to be completely unhelpful. Haruhi decided she'd live with that answer anyway. She assumed that maybe this was the best she could get.

"Um…I'm Haruhi," Haruhi said, as the young-man continued to stare at her except now more intently, "What's your name?"

She watched as the wind played with his hair. He looked strange and handsome at the same time. Haruhi found this was a strange combination of words and ideas, but it seemed to fit this young-man best. He was strange, but handsome. After a brief silence, he answered.

"My name is Gaara…"

…………………………………

_**My first all-nighter! Excitement! Well, I hope you liked my latest chapter. I love all the reviews, except…OO…none of them told me how the first chapter was good. I mean, I'm excited you liked it. But, why do you like it? I'm just hoping for more detailed reviews this time, so I can better my story, I hope this chapter rose to your expectations. Anyways, I am actually in a school play currently, so updating will be hard. But! I am planning to at least try to update once a week. I think I did fairly well updating this time, so YAY! I love you guys! Hope you continue to enjoy this story! R &R!**_


	3. Of Debts and Fluff

The occupants of the Third Music Hall were still in a heated debate on whether or not these "protectors" or "Ninjas" were actually fit for the job. And in the Twin's case, whether or not Naruto had any fashion sense to his name. Either way, sadly, the remnants of team 7 weren't doing so well. Kyoya was a mean debater…

"I find myself severely disappointed by what I've seen of your work so far," Kyoya said before looking around the room for a moment, his eyes narrowed, "How well do you handle surprise situations?"

Sakura put her hand on her head and ruffled some of the pink locks as she thought about the situation. Naruto continued to have a hold of his head-band, and tilted his head to the side seemingly ignoring the question; because he was too busy glaring at the twins (whom had cheeky smiles on their faces).

"Well, I imagine we'd take it on to the best of our advantage and to the best of our ability. There would be no need to worry that we couldn't handle it," Sakura answered confidently as she pulled her hand out of her hair. Kyoya raised a brow, and a ghost of a smile showed on his face.

"That's a decent answer. Alright then, let's see how you react to this surprise situation… Where has Haruhi, the person you're supposed to be protecting and watching over, gone to?" Kyoya said in a calm voice while rubbing his hands against his leather note-book.

"WHAT!?!?!" Sakura and Naruto shouted at the same time. Their eyes darted around the room in panic. They had managed to lose their ward already? This was not good. Sakura concluded after reviewing the room that one of the Host-Club members was, indeed, missing. She turned to face Naruto.

"Naruto that 'guy 'with the brown hair and those amazing brown eyes is missing. 'He' must be Haruhi! Naruto we have to find 'him'!" Sakura almost screeched. The Twins snorted and leaned into each-other.

"Such great observation skills," Hikaru and Kaoru said sarcastically as they rolled their honey-brown eyes. Hikaru leaned into Kaoru's shoulder and gave him a smile, which was returned. Their heads met as they leaned into each-other as smirks spread across their faces. Sakura watched on in interest as a blush spread on her face.

"Wait, amazing brown eyes? Sakura what do you mean by amazing brown eyes?" Naruto said dejectedly as he looked to the pink-haired girl, who was currently engrossed in the twin's doings. Naruto had apparently not heard the rude comment of the twin's this time.

Kyoya watched as the so called Ninja's seemed to panic and then get caught up in other things that were irrelevant to the situation. He was displeased so far by their performance. This was their best? This was sad. Kyoya cleared his throat loudly and caught the attention of everyone in the room.

"I've decided to set up a debt system for both of you to follow…" Kyoya said as he opened up his black folder to write something down. Sakura seemed appalled by this notion, as did Naruto.

"WAIT A MINUTE! A DEBT SYSTEM!??! YOU'RE THE ONE PAYING US! NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! WE'RE DOING OUR JOB, AND JOB EQUALS MONEY!" Naruto boomed while thrusting his fist in the air justly.

"Job? Currently you're failing your job exceptionally well. Furthermore, I'm actually being quite generous. Instead of paying you absolutely nothing from lack of quality work, I am merely deducting money from your original pay every time you slip up or make a mistake such as now," Kyoya said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Oh, Kyoya-Sir. I don't think that's such a good idea. Our Volunteer- team member, Gaara, is probably not going to like that to much," Sakura said nervously as she thought about the terror Gaara could cause for not getting paid. It was the whole reason he had volunteered for the job.

"Oh, I'm not deducting anything from him, it's just you two. As far as I can tell, he hasn't made any mistakes. He hasn't lost Haruhi like you two, He hasn't made any stupid comments like you too, and he hasn't annoyed me yet. As far as I can tell, this Gaara person is very professional," Kyoya said in a serious tone. The twin's chuckled to themselves.

"WHAT! That's not fair at all!" Naruto exploded as he stomped his feet. Sakura sighed and rubbed her temples. This job was not going well at all so far. In fact, it was starting to become terrible. Even the very very attractive males before her were not making it better.

"Could you please stop yelling? My bunny's head and my head is starting to hurt," Honey said softly, Mori turned his head to give a death glare towards Naruto (who cringed slightly), "I can see why Haruhi went outside for her… 'His' head-ache,"

Everyone in the room froze and turned to Honey-Sempai. Sakura on inside began to steam, while Naruto's face turned red in rage. However, Naruto did not shout this time; due to the death glare Mori was giving him from causing Honey-sempai to have a head-ache.

"You knew where 'he' was this whole time?" Sakura bit out trying to remain calm. This was too much. Kyoya was almost amused by the whole spectacle, but his face remained blank. Hikaru and Kaoru held onto to each other for support as they chortled together.

The click of the Third Music Hall door sounded again. This time it was Naruto and Sakura that watched as the Host-Club took on their poses. Sakura's anger lightened as this happened. She was fairly impressed by how handsome the boys around her could be. Then she and Naruto turned towards the door to see who was coming as well.

Haruhi stepped through the door, surprised to find that it was quiet. The Host-Club eyed the dark figure behind her. He seemed to have a darkness surrounding him, which made the members of the Club to imagine him as a perfect fit for the Dark Magic Club. Nekozawa would probably love this guy. Hopefully he liked cats…

"I found your team-member," Haruhi said lightly as she motioned to Gaara that now stood beside her. Sakura twiddled her thumbs nervously as she eyed Gaara, while Naruto put his hand put his hand behind his head. The rest of the Ouran Host-Club studied Gaara for a moment.

"Such an honor to finally meet you…" Kyoya said as he shut his black note-book close. Haruhi eyed the note-book warily. Kyoya usually only had it out when he was adding to her debt, but she could have sworn she saw negative numbers this time.

"Well it seems you Team-member has managed to do something you two weren't able to again. I must say he is very professional," Kyoya continued. Sakura and Naruto looked ticked, Haruhi looked confused, Gaara looked bored, and the twins were still laughing from the last time.

"I know you went outside, but why did you take so long?" Honey-sempai questioned as he sat himself down at his little tea table. Haruhi tilted her head and thought about it for a moment.

"I guess it was because I was talking to Gaara," Haruhi answered truthfully. Now it was Sakura's and Naruto's turn to appear completely bewildered. Gaara talk to Haruhi? Yet, as far as they knew, Gaara never talked to anyone unless it was relatively important. What could they have possibly talked about?

……..

_"Oh I suppose it's nice to meet you Gaara," Haruhi replied, adding a weak smile to the end of her statement. Gaara seemed taken aback by what Haruhi had said. No-one ever said it was nice to meet him. Slowly Gaara detached himself from the tree branch and landed beside Haruhi. She was slightly startled by this movement, but it only lasted a second or two._

_"So, who was driving you crazy?" Gaara asked still holding a dead-pan look. Haruhi blinked and her eye-brows knitted together. Then she realized what he was talking about. She lifted her head to talk to Gaara, because he was just a little bit taller than she was._

_"Oh! Well, it was just my friends. They can get out of control sometimes…" Haruhi said with a sigh. She thought back to all the times, where she had been dragged into doing slightly crazy situations. Gaara stood their for a moment just studying Haruhi._

_"If you have friends then why do you need protection? From what I've learned friends are suppose to protect each other?" Gaara said in the same cool tone. Haruhi looked up at him for a moment. The way he had stated the question was almost as if he was un-sure of himself._

_"My friends do protect me. It's just that one of my friend's is over-protective. Sort of, to the point where it becomes irritating. I don't hold it against Tamaki though…" Haruhi answered, then she realized something, "How did you know that I was getting protection?"_

_Another silence passed. It appeared to Haruhi just then that with talking to Gaara there was always a pause of silence. Yet, she also found it wasn't really an awkward silence. It was just a silence._

_"I was one of the people sent to protect you, Haruhi" Gaara answered evenly. Haruhi nodded her head. That made sense. Although, she wasn't sure why he was here and not with the other two people._

_"Well, if that's true we better head to the Third Music Hall. From when I left, it looked like Kyoya was giving them a hard time," Haruhi said. _

_Not taking thought into it, Haruhi reached over and grasped one of Gaara's hands as she prepared to lead Gaara to the Third Music Hall. She was hindered from going a great distance, because Gaara held her back. She turned to find that he hadn't moved from his spot, and was eyeing Haruhi's hand connected to his with a cool stare._

"_Is something wrong?" Haruhi asked as she noticed how tense Gaara's shoulders were. There was another pause in time, but then it seemed that Gaara relaxed. His aquamarine eyes rose to look into Haruhi's light brown ones._

"_Nothing. Nothing is wrong…" He answered in a slightly softer voice, than his normal deep one. Haruhi nodded her head and prepared to leave again. She noticed as they started off again that Gaara's larger hand tightened around her smaller one._

…………….

"Hmmm…alright. Either way, we should start getting ready for hosting tomorrow," Kyoya said as he walked back over to his desk that he had been working at earlier before Tamaki had burst in.

"Haruhi come eat sweets with me!" Honey-sempai said cheerfully as hi bit into a new piece of cake. Bun-bun sat in his respectable chair right beside Honey-Sempai. Mori stood beside the table and leaned against the arm of a nearby sofa. His eyes traveled to Haruhi after Honey's question was asked.

The twin's laughter had died away and now they looked at Gaara critically. They could have sworn this guy had been holding Haruhi's hand before walking all the way in. Yet, perhaps Gaara relinquished his hold before anyone could tell. Either way Hikaru and Kaoru were finding him to be suspicious…

"Sure, Honey-Sempai. Just remember not to eat too many, we don't want a repeat of last time," Haruhi said as she sighed. She slowly walked away from the door and towards Honey. Gaara watched as she drifted away from him. Then his eyes turned to his 'team-mates'.

"What are you looking at?" he asked as his eyes narrowed. Naruto and Sakura laughed nervously and tried to look at anywhere other than Gaara's intimidating gaze. Gaara seemed satisfied with this reaction and went to go lean against the wall.

………………

_**YAY! I finished! I hope you liked this chapter. Lol, I had fun writing it. YAY 4 GAARAXHARUHI fluff. I know I'm weird, but hey. I'm happy from the results of my work, and I'll hope you'll continue to read. And no worries for those that are fans of Tamaki! He shall be coming back soon! Being separated from Haruhi too long is bad for his health. XD**_


	4. A Pleasant Walk

Haruhi clutched the red pencil in her hand tighter as she stared at the math equation in front of her. Hosting had been slow today, so she had decided to work on her studies. She had to keep up her grades as much as possible to keep her scholarship. Finally figuring out the problem Haruhi scribbled down the answer in her note-book. As she finished writing a different hand clamped over the one holding her pencil. Her head tilted up to look into the face of the person whom the hand belonged to. She was surprised to be met by eyes made more definite by the glasses that sat in front of them.

"What did I do?" Haruhi sighed as her head fell to her chest. Was he going to charge her for doing homework instead of hosting? Kyoya raised a brow as he removed his hand from Haruhi's. He stood up straight and clutched his black folder to his chest. Stepping back a little he shook his head.

"As far as I can see, you haven't done anything. I was only going to tell you that we are finished for today. Everyone is leaving. You just seemed distracted by your work. I thought it would kind to inform you of the others departure. This only shows me, that perhaps I should stop 'trying' to be nice," Kyoya replied.

Haruhi blinked. Was that last part Kyoya attempting to make a joke? Yet, his face was as blank as always. His glasses just sitting on the tip of his nose as his cool gaze watched her. Haruhi decided perhaps she just imagined it. Then she replayed the rest of what the shadow king had said in her head.

Her light brown eyes scanned the room to find that the other's, Indeed, were beginning to leave. She watched as Honey-sempai took one last bit of cup-cake and stuff it into his mouth, before Mori decided to lift him up. As Honey balanced on Mori's shoulders he turned to Haruhi and smiled widely.

"BYE HARUHI! Takashi and I are going to pick up my little brother from school!" Honey cheered happily with one arm shooting in the air. The boy's beloved pink bunny was clutched in the other hand as Mori continued out the door. Haruhi waved them off as she began to get out of the desk chair.

"Farewell Haruhi!" the twins cooed together as they embraced each-other on their exit. Haruhi just shook her head as a ghost of a smile shown on her face. She shuffled her papers and books while stuffing them into her bag. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Kyoya shut his lap-top and stand up straight.

"You should probably start heading home soon…" Kyoya said not looking up from what he was doing, Haruhi turned to him confused as he continued, and "I will be here a little longer. It's getting fairly dark, and I'm aware you walk home,"

Surprised, Haruhi could only nod her head. She swung her bag over her shoulder and began walking out the door. Her hand gripped the cool handle of the door and clicked it open. A feeling over-came Haruhi right then. It was as if the click of the door registered something in her brain. Yet, it wasn't to the same effect of the host club members.

Haruhi felt like she was missing something. She had her bag so that wasn't it. She felt that something was out of place. Her books were in her bag, so that wasn't it. She felt like she had forgotten something fairly important, but she wasn't exactly sure of what. That's when she heard the foot-steps following her down the hall.

Haruhi craned her neck to stare back behind her. It was that girl and boy from earlier. A huge 'Oh yeah…' echoed in her head as realized that it was her so called protectors she forgot about. Maybe, Kyoya was right when he said she was really distracted by her work.

"What are you doing?" Haruhi said plainly as she looked at them. Sakura and Naruto halted in their tracks. They looked back at Haruhi awkwardly then towards each-other. Naruto stepped up and grazed his blue sandals along the tile floor, while he put his arm behind his head.

"Um…we're protecting you, and we're trying to keep WHAT MONEY WE HAVE LEFT!" Naruto started nervously, but converted to his hyper-active knuckle-headed ninja self. Haruhi blinked, and Sakura groaned while putting her face in her hands.

"Money?" Haruhi asked questioningly. Coincidently a chibi picture of Kyoya popped into her head. The chibi Kyoya kept his serious face as he danced through piles upon piles of money. Haruhi's eyes narrowed. Sakura walked closer to Haruhi, while the other girl was still in thought.

"What Naruto is trying to say is that we want to make up for earlier. Since we apparently didn't do so great of a job," Sakura said calmly as swept a hand through her cherry blossom hair. A nervous smile crept to her face. Haruhi turned her head to the side to sigh. She breathed in deeply, and started walking forward.

"Fine. Let's just go, it's starting to get dark and it's a fairly long distance to my house," Haruhi said as she opened the door to the entrance of the school. Sakura's nervous smile faded into a real one and she walked towards Haruhi happily. Naruto heard Haruhi's reply as well, and bounded over to meet up with the two girls.

The trio filtered through the elaborate school front and began to descend down the white cobblestone steps that led out the gate. A light breeze flying by shook the leaves in the trees. Haruhi's short-length hair fluttered in front of her eyes. Haruhi brushed her hair out of her face and stopped when she spotted someone in the distance.

A silhouette leaned against one of the pillars beside the questionable fountain. Haruhi stepped closer and caught sight of spiky maroon hair. It was that Gaara person from this morning. Wasn't he one of the people who was supposed to 'protecting' her too? Why wasn't he with the other two behind her?

"Hello?" tried Haruhi as she finally caught the boy's attention. Aqua-marine eyes stared back into her light brown ones. His face was blank, but he walked towards the group. No words left his lips, but Haruhi took that he had at the very least acknowledged her. Naruto and Sakura went stiff as Gaara got close.

Taking no time to realize how un-comfortable Naruto and Sakura were in Gaara's presence, Haruhi started heading back to her house again. The trip to her house began to become very very quiet one with the addition of Gaara. Haruhi noticed that Sakura and Naruto had weary looks on their faces. Haruhi just shrugged it off and picked up her pace as the sun started dipping faster behind the trees.

"Um…so…" Sakura trying to start a conversation to break the almost un-bearable silence, "Haruhi? What is it you guys actually do in the host club?"

Haruhi shifted her bag on her shoulder as she thought about the question. The host-club did a lot of things. Most of which, made her life more difficult. Her face scrunched at this thought, but then she thought of the pretty fun times too. A light smile came to her lips. How could she word what the host club did? Perhaps Tamaki said it best, as she thought of his little speech.

"Well, since today Tamaki was missing, we didn't do a lot. However, the host club is pretty much what it sounds like, we host people. These aren't my views, but it's the best definition I can come up with," Haruhi said as she thought carefully about Tamaki's usual speech with a twist of her own flare, "Ouran Academy is defined by one, prestigious families, and two, rich bastards. For some reason rich people have hours of time on their hands, so the Ouran host club was given life. So, rich attractive boys flirt with equally wealthy girls for profit. Apparently it's a great source of amusement…"

The three ninja's were slightly taken aback. That was an interesting way to put it. Sakura bit her lip as she thought about what Haruhi implied. So the very attractive young men flirted with the girls at the school for money? Something seemed wrong with this picture, yet so right at the same time.

"If that's all you guys do, why do you need us? I mean I'll do this mission either way, but I mean why does a guy like you need ninjas?" Naruto questioned allowed as they continued onward. Gaara stayed quiet through most of the interaction, but was somewhat intrigued.

"I think the only reason for that is because of a paranoid friend. Truthfully, I don't need you guys, but it is interesting to meet new people," Haruhi said as she turned the corner of the street. The glamorous streets were turning normal as they continued on.

The group seemed content with this answer and trekked on. The sun was far below the trees now and the horizon was turning a deep orange. One last corner was crossed as they finally made it to Haruhi's street. The group was shocked.

"YOU LIVE HERE!?!?!" shouted Naruto as he stared at the apartment complex. Where was the huge over-size mansion? The in-door swimming pool? The butler? The huge snarling guard dogs? Haruhi quirked a brow at the question, but she had a vague idea of what he was getting at.

"If you're wondering why I live in an apartment, it's because I'm not full of money like those rich bas… like the other people at my school. I'm going there on a scholarship," Haruhi answered.

Sakura seemed impressed by the fact that Haruhi was smart enough to make it into such a prestigious school. Gaara seemed impressed too, but his facial expression never changed. For some reason, Naruto seemed uberly excited to the extreme, like he was about to explode. Haruhi didn't quite get Naruto's reaction.

"YES!!!!! Now we don't have to eat any fancy rich people food. Ha ha! Now I can eat loads of ramen!" Naruto said happily. Haruhi was actually kind of amused this time. Naruto seemed very enthusiastic about this.

"So, you like ramen?" Haruhi asked as they continued to stand outside her apartments. Sakura laughed loudly and tried to stifle it with her hand. Gaara looked at the pink-haired girl curiously.

"That's like asking if a fish likes water!" Sakura said cheer-fully with a smile on her face. Naruto pouted as he crossed his hands over his chest. He didn't like being made fun of. Haruhi almost smiled at the scene. She noticed that Gaara was still apart from the group, however.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's sooooo funny…Alright then, what's your favorite kind of food, then? Bet it's not as great as ramen…" Naruto said in a grumbly kind of voice with his arms crossed. Haruhi tilted her head up as she touched her index-finger to her chin to think about it.

"Well, I suppose my favorite food is fatty tuna, even though I've never gotten to try the real thing. No matter how much I've attempted too…" Haruhi said as she thought of all the times she had been so close to tasting the delectable treat. Naruto quirked a brow and un-crossed his arms.

"How can you have that as favorite food if you never tried it? I've at least eaten ramen before. Lots and lots of ramen, because it's the best food ever…believe it!" Naruto said as he looked at Haruhi critically. Sakura stifled another giggle, and Gaara continued to look bored.

"Well, I guess that is kind of strange" Haruhi said before seeing that the sun was almost completely gone and the streetlights were blinking on one by one, "I think I should probably go in. Good-bye, it was…interesting to me you today,"

Naruto blinked then began to wave enthusiastically, before running off. Sakura assumed he was most likely going to try to find a ramen stand. He probably made himself hungry talking about it. With a sigh and a weary glance towards Gaara, Sakura waved good-bye to Haruhi and headed off after Naruto.

Haruhi watched as Naruto and Sakura faded off into the distance. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and started to ascend the steps to her apartment. She heard shuffling behind her and turned her head. Gaara was still standing in the same spot he had been the whole time.

"Good-bye…" Gaara said sounding almost like he was un-sure of himself. His mesmerizing eyes blinked as he looked up at Haruhi expectantly. Haruhi seemed surprised by the sudden interaction. She had noticed throughout the day that Gaara didn't like to talk much apparently. She gave him a weak smile.

"Good-bye Gaara, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow," Haruhi said before turning around and continuing up the stairs. After a moment or two she looked back to see if he was still there, but in that short time span he had managed to disappear. Well, he was a ninja…

……………..

_**Well, another chapter! YAY! However…I might not update the next chapter. IF! I don't get enough reviews. I mean…last chapter 127 people read it, but only 3 people reviewed. That's like a 124 people who could of reviewed but didn't. And for a couple of days there were no reviews on the chapter. For a while, I was worried you didn't like it. But eh…at least 5 reviews should hold me over. Heh. OH! ALSO! I have had request for different couplings. I shall put some effort into getting those in. Everyone should be able to have their couple moments. Yet, in the end there will be ONE couple. Other than that, PREPARE FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!**_


	5. Uniforms

Haruhi looked in the mirror as she adjusted her black purple-striped tie. Tying a tie was relatively hard for her at first, but her father helped her out. After she placed the tie under her collar appropriately, she walked over to a chair where her pale blue jacket hung. A sound caught her off-guard as she approached the jacket.

It sounded like hushed whispers. A rumble of various voices was accumulating. What was going on? It sounded like it was coming from outside her apartment. Haruhi raised a brow and lifted the jacket from the chair. She pulled the jacket up her arms and brought the front of it forward. She buttoned the two lone buttons on the jacket and headed for the door.

As Haruhi opened the door a frown came to her face. A crowd of people had collected around the apartment like rain in a puddle. She remembered the last time something like this happened. The Host-Club had decided to pay a visit that day.

Yes, Haruhi remembered that day clearly. The Host-Club had pulled up in a flashy limousine, and stepped out sporting non-school uniform designer outfits. Tamaki had his expensive glamour sunglasses. Come to think of it, that visit to her house was Tamaki's doing too. If she remembered correctly, it was because Tamaki had been worried about her living conditions.

Haruhi snorted at the memory, and couldn't decide whether to be amused or annoyed. Either way it seemed something similar was happening again. However, as she scanned the crowd not a Host-Club member could be seen. The object of everyone's attention was not in her view.

Yet, where was the thing or person stirring such commotion? Haruhi finally noticed that the crowd was focusing on something just beyond her peripheral vision. Haruhi turned her head to look behind her.

"What are you doing?" asked Haruhi incredulously. The maroon-haired stared down at her with his green glassy eyes. He was a sight to see sitting up in the tree beside Haruhi's apartment complex. Haruhi concluded, however, that it was at least better than him hanging upside-down from the tree like the incident yesterday. She was sure that would have caused even more attention to come than they already had.

"I was waiting for you…" Gaara answered after a short pause. He tilted his head as he continued to look at Haruhi. Then he blinked. Haruhi shifted the bag on her shoulder and glanced back at the crowd behind who had not taken their focus off the two. Haruhi sighed and turned back to Gaara's fixated stare.

"Why are you waiting for me in a tree?" Haruhi asked as she seemingly joined in this un-announced staring contest. She did admit the boy looked intimidating sitting up there. The early morning sun appeared to highlight the dark circles around his eyes even more, making his vibrant aqua-marine eyes a prominent focal point on his face.

"Why not?" Gaara stated bluntly. Haruhi couldn't doubt that logic. Haruhi glanced down at her watch. They had to pick up the pace if they were going to make it school. Lowering her arm she prepared to leave.

"Come on, we have to hurry if we are going to be on time," Haruhi said. As she began to walk away in one swift motion Gaara jumped out of the tree. The heads of crowd members of the two teens. Necks craned as they turned the corner and disappeared from their view.

Gaara and Haruhi walked in silence as they continued down on their way to Ouran High school. Haruhi was used to walking alone to school, so the quiet didn't bother her all that much. She was intrigued by the fact, however; that she could still be walking with someone, but still feel like she was alone.

The pair began to turn another corner and Haruhi took this chance to glance over at Gaara. His focus was straightforward, but as soon as he felt her eyes on him he turned his head to gaze at her. Haruhi breathed in and then let the breathe escape before looking ahead again.

"Sorry. I was just curious as to why you were here to pick me up this morning," Haruhi said. There was a brief silence between the two. Haruhi's gaze fell to the sun's early morning rays just beginning to peek over the trees. Gaara seemed to contemplate his answer to the question Haruhi presented before speaking up to break the silence.

"I was fulfilling my duty to the highest extent. If I was to not do it at my best it would not be worth doing. Furthermore, if I cannot protect one person how will I be able to protect thousands more," Gaara said as his eyes seemed to take a far-off look.

"So you did this, because it was your duty?" Haruhi asked slightly crestfallen (though she didn't understand why), "Yet…what did you mean by being able to protect thousands?"

Gaara breathed in deeply and began to pick up his pace. His dark-rimmed eyes gazed towards her for a moment, before looking forward again. Haruhi felt that he was almost reluctant to tell her something.

Haruhi shifted the bag on her shoulder. Then her eyes shifted to the large gourd attached to Gaara's back. Wasn't that heavy? The sound of a throat being cleared was heard. Haruhi snapped her attention back to Gaara's face.

"Where I come from…as well as Sakura and Naruto, ninjas are a very important part in the protection of an entire village. It's our duty and our job. In my village, I have a…very high-ranked position. So it is very important that I must learn how to properly protect those in my care. By taking this job as your body-guard, I hope to better myself," Gaara said, seemingly choosing each word carefully as if not to give everything away fully.

Haruhi still felt irked (for some strange reason) at being some experiment in protection, but she also accepted the fact it was for a good cause. She felt the need to add something more to the conversation after this point, but could find no words to say after that. So she opted, for staying silent. It wasn't long before she realized they were already in front of the school.

The pair kept the silence around them as they began to ascend the stairs up to the third music room. Chatter around them almost ceased as well as wandering eyes followed the new addition to Ouran High school; various girls watched Gaara as he followed Haruhi into the third music Hall. After the two disappeared from sight the chatter erupted again with full force.

The occupants of the third music hall stared curiously at the people that had just entered their little sanctuary. One of these people was their secret little angel in disguise, while the other was a scary looking outsider. The sound of a lap-top being clicked shut rang through the walls of the third music hall, Followed by the sound of a chair screeching against the floor.

"Well how interesting. This is the second time 'you' have entered through this doorway with Haruhi in tow. I'm not sure whether to be impressed or concerned. 'You' have such a way of making an entrance," Kyoya said with this eerie under-lining tone of cynical air.

The host-club was some-what put off by Kyoya's tone, as well as Sakura and Naruto who had entered the room a little before Haruhi and Gaara arrived. Haruhi blinked at Kyoya's strange greeting, and put it off as him about to load large amounts of money on her debt later today. She was partially right…

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Gaara retorted coolly back to Kyoya. A stare down began at this point. A sharp pointed glare filtered through Kyoya's black rimmed glasses towards the ninja across the room. Gaara returned the look with an uncomfortable crooked smile as his eyes narrowed slightly.

The tension between the two began building. An electric pulse seemed to almost shoot through them. The masters of icy glares and troubled minds continued to stare each other down. Both princes' of darkness sat confidently on his thrown. The other occupants of the room started becoming un-easy as these two over-whelming powers tried taking the other down in some mental or physiological battle. The group was not actually sure what to call it.

An odd sound stopped the tension in the room and interrupted the quiet. Honey-sempai groaned again as tiny tears began to well up in his eyes. Mori knelt down beside the small teenager to see what was wrong. The room watched on in interest.

"We're all out of sweets…" Honey-sempai said sadly as he licked the remnants of the last cup-cake off his fingers. He was completely un-aware of the tension moments before, for he had been too engrossed in eating his cup-cake. Haruhi almost wanted to laugh. She found it so typical of host-club to get off task sometimes.

"I will see what I can do…" Kyoya said as he adjusted his glasses and went back to his forgotten lap-top. The host-club began to really loosen up after this point. Everything started coming back to normal. Well, relatively normal…

Kaoru and Hikaru were slightly bored. There was no host-king here today to pester. Both gained mischievous grins as they eyed the other un-suspecting blonde in the corner, Naruto. Perfect. He would make a great replacement while the king was away. The twins trickled off to make mischief.

Naruto looked on wearily as the two twins approached. Sakura ignored Naruto's current predicament. Her thoughts were focused on the past. In fact, her thoughts were mainly on the moments that occurred minutes before. When she had watched those two forces go against each other, something had swelled up inside her.

It wasn't a bad feeling. On the contrary, it lit a fire inside her. Those cool glaring eyes, dark aura, and icy nature took a very positive effect on her as it brought back memories of another boy in her past that did things just as similar. Goose-bumps spread across her skin as a pleasurable sigh left her lips. She wondered were her dark prince was right at this moment.

Haruhi watched as everyone did their own thing. Her eyes spotted the clock on the wall and she realized they only had a few minutes before classes actually started. She wondered if she could manage to escape without anyone noticing her missing. With Tamaki not actually here, she might've stood a chance. However, Kyoya decided to ruin her moment with an announcement.

"Now that I have handled the sweets incident. I have another important thing to discuss. Our current 'guests' here in the host-club don't particularly fit in this fine academy. So I believe it would be in our best interest, as well as theirs, to be fitted for school uniforms," Kyoya said.

Naruto didn't look to happy about briefly parting with his orange jump-suit, and Gaara seemed to almost to have a raging rebellious aura about him saying "Hell No". Sakura on the other hand looked worried. She studied the room around her.

"What will my uniform look like? Is it blue too?" Sakura asked as she eyed the baby blue-blazers and black slacks. Kyoya shook his head and lifted up a bag from his desk. He lifted a yellow dress from it and presented it to the room. Sakura blinked at the outfit thrust in front of her.

"This is what you shall be wearing. Luckily enough, we already happened to have an extra dress for you to wear. For the gentlemen however, they will need to be measured and fitted," Kyoya said. Sakura eyed the frilly-yellow dress again with distaste. If need be, she was going to have to fight in that?

"Wait!" Naruto yelled, irritating some of the people in the room, "Will you be deducting money from us to pay for these things? I need at least some money after this for ramen!"

Sakura agreed that Naruto posed an important question. Although, she found his reasoning flawed. Kyoya lifted his little black book from his desk and flipped it open. A Cheshire smile crossed his face, yet he shook his head.

"Oh don't worry. I'm not deducting any money today. I am though, adding money to Haruhi's debt for this little venture," Kyoya said smoothly. Haruhi's eyes grew wide and then frown formed on her face. Her head fell to her chest as she sighed. Why?

A knock was heard on the door and a slim man slipped through the door. In his hand were a note-pad and a yellow measuring tape. The fitter had arrived just in time. Kyoya summoned him over. Gaara looked at the foreign man with disgust.

"No-one is going to touch me…No-one," Gaara said plainly as he glared menacingly at the man with the measuring tape. A smirk appeared on Kyoya's face as he glanced over at Gaara. His eyes glinted in the light.

"Well, I am truly sorry Gaara. Either someone measures you for a uniform or you don't get one. And I'm afraid if you don't receive a uniform you will have to leave by default. You can't measure yourself you know. So Gaara, who shall be measuring you if not this fine craftsman?" Kyoya said smartly.

What Kyoya was unaware of was that he was not the only clever person in the bunch. Gaara held a twisted mind as well. From that twisted mind a great little revenge to Kyoya's comment came. The twisted little mind then told its body to put on a twisted little smile. It did so. Kyoya's plot back-fired.

"Haruhi…"

………………………………….

_**I am so sorry for the delay. The play rehearsals were a lot more work than expected. Keeping up with the play and my homework was a lot more troublesome than expected. So I'm happy I managed to finally get this up. I hope to get back to that weekly thing I promised last time. Heh. Well, I hope you enjoyed this. And I hope you'll review. **_

_**And if you were wondering about the Naruto characters it's after the time skip. Sakura and Naruto are only weary of Gaara, not because they're scared, but because they're scared for what he might do to the host-club if they make him angry enough. Feel free to ask anymore question and I'll be happy to answer. .**_


	6. Daddy's Coming Home

A silence enveloped the Third Music Hall. Everyone stared over at the dark-rimmed eyed boy who stood near the Shadow King. He had a crooked smile on his face, and the air-conditioner lightly blew through his maroon colored hair. He always did enjoy watching people squirm.

"I'm sorry… What did you say? I think I might have misunderstood what you said…" Kyoya said in a chilling tone as a spark of light filtered through the lens of his glasses. His hard glare hit Gaara full-on, but the other boy didn't even flinch.

"Oh I will make sure to better elaborate. I would like it if Haruhi would be the one to measure me," Gaara said smoothly. Sakura and Naruto looked at each-other worriedly. They weren't entirely sure what Gaara was attempting to do by this. Yet, all in all they were sure it couldn't be good.

"That's what I thought you said," Kyoya let out in an almost bitter tone. Haruhi looked at him curiously. What on earth was he upset about? Haruhi in truth didn't mind having to measure Gaara. It was a strange request, but then again she noticed he was slightly different around her.

Everyone was still a bit on edge. The twins were slightly peeved about the proposition set forth. Mori looked in-different, yet interested. Honey-Sempai just had a smile on. He could see why Gaara might want Haruhi to help. She was a very nice person.

"I don't see what the problem is. I assure you I won't do anything to Haruhi. It's not like he's a girl…" Gaara said smoothly as the crooked smile came back to his face. That is when the Host Club Members froze into place.

The ever quiet Mori's face turned stern, Honey almost choked on the cherry he was munching on, the twins eyes turned wide, and Kyoya snapped his black note-book shut loudly. Haruhi was somewhat surprised and un-sure of how to feel at this point.

Sakura and Naruto looked on in interest. Everyone had grown eerily quiet after Gaara spoke. The before mentioned boy, started walking to the tailor. He plucked the yellow measuring tape from his hand and headed towards the other room. With one look back, he gestured his head for Haruhi to follow.

Haruhi looked back at the other people in the room and back to the door Gaara had just walked through. With a Shrug of her shoulders she followed the boy into the other room. She really didn't mind if people knew she was a girl. She sometimes wondered if it would be easier that way.

The others watched as she disappeared behind the door before it shut closed. The room was still unbearably quiet, and it was somewhat making Naruto and Sakura uncomfortable. Kyoya walked over to his desk and set his black notebook down.

His eyes, hidden behind the glare on his glasses, narrowed into tiny slants. His fingers rapped on the table before he reached for his cell-phone. He was going to need to make a few calls. Standing up straight he proceeded to walk out of the Third Music Hall.

"It just got dangerous…" Kyoya muttered under his breath.

……………………….

**Meanwhile…**

The conference room was stiff and boring. Old arid men sat around the conference table talking about this or that. The discussion was strictly business of course. An almost in-audible sigh could be heard from one of the occupants of the room.

He was by far the youngest person in the room, and by all standards the most handsome. He had the most spectacular blonde hair and dazzling pure blue eyes. He knew how to hold himself in a meeting like this. Even though today was just practice…

Tamaki looked over at his father who was conversing with another gentlemen right beside him. The poor king was almost bored to tears. He wondered what the Host Club was doing right at this moment. He hoped that the protection he ordered was doing their job right.

"Haruhi…" Tamaki muttered under his breath. He dearly missed his "adoptive" daughter the more he thought of her. He felt very strongly about the girl. Yet, what he couldn't realize was that it wasn't entirely a fatherly feeling. It was far more than fatherly love.

Suddenly a strange feeling overcame him. His Haruhi senses were beginning to tingle. Something was not right. Something was putting the world at an imbalance. Something was wrong with HARUHI!

Tamaki screeched the wooden seat back behind him as he stood up abruptly. His shoulders slumped as a serious expression came onto his face. The other men in the conference lifted their heads to look up in interest at the youngest person in their presence.

"Son, are you alright?" Mr. Suoh asked as he watched Tamaki stand up straight. Tamaki merely nodded his head and proceeded to walk out of the conference room in quick brisk steps.

Tamaki had exited the conference room very professionally and with full dignity. No-one had said a word after he left, and then they continued on with their trivial conversation. When Tamaki was sure no-one could see him, he went and took on the situation that faced him like he normally would.

Soon enough, Tamaki had found a decent sized corner to sit in. He sniffled slightly and wondered what on earth was happening to his poor Haruhi to cause his senses to stir. He was always on charge. He always was aware when something was afoot. Or at least he liked to think so…

"Oh my Haruhi. What has become of you? I knew your dear father shouldn't have left you alone! I will return swiftly my sweet daughter!" Tamaki muttered to himself in his little corner. He continued to sit crouched in the corner as he whipped his cell-phone out of his pocket.

"I need to call mother. I must tell him I'm coming back," Tamaki said as he opened his cell-phone. He attempted to punch the numbers in, but he never got a chance. Someone was already calling him. Surprisingly, it was Kyoya.

…………………

Haruhi stood to the side awkwardly as she watched as Gaara took off his giant gourd. It would've gotten in the way of measuring. He stood up straight again and looked over at her. Haruhi sighed and walked over.

The tailor had given her the instructions on what to measure. Un-raveling the yellow measuring tape Gaara had handed her, Haruhi set to work. She decided to start with the upper torso. She had never measured anyone before, so this should be interesting.

"I'm going to start now," Haruhi said as she leaned in. Gaara nodded his head, but continued to watch her carefully. Not many people have ever gotten to ever touch him. There were very very few.

Haruhi placed her fingers lightly on one side of Gaara's shoulders to hold the tape in place. She then began to wind the tape around Gaara's shoulders till she stopped where her other finger was. She noted the measurement in her mind and continued.

"Er…Can you lift your arms up? I need to measure your chest," Haruhi said as she unwounded the tape from his shoulders. Gaara gave a bored expression and raised his hands in the air. It was a strange feeling that left him feeling almost vulnerable.

Haruhi finished measuring his chest and memorized the measurement. Standing up she went over to a side table and wrote them down. She didn't really need to write them down till she was finished. But it was just a way to prevent a mistake, and she was also slightly embarrassed about the areas she was going to start measuring next.

"Um…when did you realize?" Haruhi said as she continued writing without looking back to the boy behind her. There was a silence for a moment, and then it was broken again.

"When did I realize what?" Gaara asked curiously. He had an idea of what she was referring to, but he wanted to make sure. Haruhi turned around to face him again and held the measuring tape by her side.

"I mean, when did you figure out I was a girl? Most of the people I go to school everyday haven't even realized it. I can't imagine it's that hard to notice. I know from prior experience that I'm a terrible actor," Haruhi commented, adding random detail to the end without really taking notice.

"Well, I'd say it was the first time I met you. Your hand was so much smaller than mine, when you had grabbed it. I had also noticed before that however. When you were talking to yourself. You do not have a manly voice, so it is fairly easy to tell you are a woman if you listen closely," Gaara replied.

Haruhi nodded her head as she accepted the answer. Breathing in, she let out a breath slowly. She approached Gaara slowly and then crouched on one leg. Lifting her hands up she placed a feather-like touch on Gaara's waist to hold the tape.

She slowly measured as she wrapped the tape around him. Haruhi had to get fairly close to reach her arms around. Soon enough she was done and she kept the measurement up in her head. The next few measurements were drawing closer.

She measured the outer legs first on each side. She tried making it quick, but efficient so she wouldn't have to start over. She noticed Gaara hadn't said a word. Maybe it was much better that way.

It was that time. The moment she had been dreading this moment since she began. She had to measure the inner-leg now. She gazed up at Gaara, but he didn't look the least bit perturbed. Then again, as she thought about it. Gaara probably has never been measured for anything before.

She was about to reach in to start, yet she was having trouble concentrating. She needed some sort of distraction. When Haruhi was sure she had the measuring tape where she wanted, she placed her fingers lightly on Gaara's inner thigh and began to trail the other hand down his leg to hold the measuring tape at the end of his foot.

"Uh…why would you choose me to measure you?" Haruhi asked in a light voice. It was the only thing she could think of to distract her. Starting a conversation while she did it seemed to be the best idea.

Since Haruhi was busy focusing on the measurement and trying to distract herself with conversation; she was unable to see the look Gaara now had on his face. His green eyes were wide and his mouth lay slightly agape. When Haruhi had slid her hand down his leg, it had shot up some very odd tingles up his spine.

He looked down quickly to see what she was doing, but he was only faced back by the top of her head. Tilting his head to the side he saw she was still measuring. Now he was very glad he wished for her assistance. Having anyone else touch him like that would have been un-acceptable.

Still slightly shaken up by these strange feelings he was experiencing, he only just registered Haruhi had asked a question. Squashing down the odd tingle he was getting, Gaara thought about his answer.

"I suppose it is because I find you the most tolerable. If anyone was to ever to touch my person, it would only be you," Gaara said. He realized soon after, that what he stated still sounded quite strange.

Gaara almost choked on his own saliva as Haruhi repeated her earlier action on his opposite leg. His face contorted again and another tingle wiggled it's way up his spine. It was the oddest thing he'd ever felt.

Whether or not she realized it, Haruhi's head lightly grazed against Gaara as she measured. The poor boy had to suppress something he was un-sure of what it exactly was. He was starting to feel kind of hot. He wasn't quite sure what was going on. What was this girl doing to him?

Haruhi leaned back. She was finally done measuring. Scooting back, she stood up thinking about the measurements. Not bothering to look at Gaara, she headed for the small table again. She jotted down the measurements, and put them in her pocket to give to the tailor.

She turned around to face Gaara again. She blinked in surprise. This was an interesting development. Gaara met Haruhi's gaze and the heat that consumed him seemed to get warmer. He broke her gaze as he noticed her smile.

"Gaara…Are you blushing?"

…………………………..

_**YAY! DONE! Review please! Lol, I liked this chapter. I'm sorry if I screwed up on how to measure someone. I'm just using miniscule details from some experience. I hoped you liked it. And yes…. TAMAKI IS COMING BACK! YAY! I hope you enjoyed it. **_


	7. Ninja Hosts

The usual beyond hyper-active blonde known as Naruto was currently lying on a couch bored to tears. He groaned and sat up scratching his head. His gaze fell around the almost empty room and he sighed.

"I'm going to go crazy! Why'd that Kyoya guy make us stay in this stupid room? I mean, how are we supposed that Haruhi guy if we're in here?" Naruto yelled annoyed. He sat up on the couch and looked over at Sakura that was sitting at a table not too far off.

"Naruto we can't walk around the school till we get our uniforms. I mean, Kyoya, he has a very good point. If we just walked around in what we're wearing now, we'd totally stick out. Thus we'd be defeating the whole purpose of us being here," Sakura said as she played with a tea-cup. She couldn't help it; she was kind of bored too.

"But, it's like lunch-time and they didn't even think to get us food. Plus I don't think there's even a cup of ramen in this whole place," Naruto groaned again. Sakura looked over at Naruto. She had to say she was kind of impressed by how well he'd been acting so far. Sitting still and doing nothing was very hard for the blonde ninja.

"Naruto I'm sure they're not purposefully forgetting to feed us. They most likely assumed that we had already eaten," Sakura said. Naruto grumbled after Sakura spoke, but then seemed to lighten up. He appeared to have realized something.

Slowly Naruto approached the only other occupant in the room, who was at this time sitting in a chair by the window. He was gazing out of the window and looking at everything down below. Naruto stopped right beside Gaara. The other boy lifted his head to turn and look at the hyperactive blonde.

"Well, somehow you've managed to stay out of trouble this whole time. I was wondering if you can think of a way for us to get food without getting into any more trouble. I'm really really hungry…" Naruto said. Gaara said nothing, but turned back to the window.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura hissed under her teeth. She was pretty sure Gaara wouldn't kill the idiot, but can Naruto really be so dim-witted. Of course, Naruto didn't know when to keep his mouth shut to well.

"Come on, Sakura. I need to get me some ramen here or something. Gaara would know how. I think the only time he managed to piss off that Kyoya guy was this morning, but yet again he avoided it. Personally, I still don't see what it was such a big deal Haruhi measured him," Naruto rambled on.

Unknown to the other two in the room, another light blush peppered Gaara's cheeks as he thought of the incident that morning. As to not be caught blushing again (which caused the blush he currently had deepen), Gaara quickly stood up from the chair he was sitting in and walked out the Third Music Hall doorway.

"Whoa. Why'd he leave?" Naruto asked as he watched the door close. Sakura sighed and put her hand on her hip. She shook her head as she gazed at her idiotic blonde team mate.

"You probably made him mad and he left," Sakura retorted. Naruto scratched his head and thought about it for a moment. Then a smile graced his face as he pointed one index finger into the air.

"Or maybe he went to get food!" Naruto said excitedly. A vein popped on Sakura's forehead. Then she bopped Naruto on his big head.

…………………………………

The twins happily talked to each-other as that sat on either side of Haruhi at the lunch table. Haruhi tried to eat her lunch with everything that was going on behind her, but it was somewhat difficult. Especially since Kaoru kept reaching over to Hikaru going "Oh my brother", which made the other girl students around them coo in delight.

"Haruhi, you have a bit of food on your cheek…" Hikaru purred as he leaned in to lick it off. Kaoru pouted, because now he was being ignored. Haruhi's face scrunched up when she felt Hikaru's tongue glide against her cheek.

"Brother, did you forget about me?" Kaoru said, "I want to join the fun too!"

By the time Kaoru joined in for a lick too, several girls had fainted from excitement. Other girls squealed in pure delight. Haruhi sighed and she pulled her head back to stop the licking. She was slightly embarrassed, but didn't show it.

She picked up her lunch and left the table. A chorus of disappointed groans came from the fan girls. Kaoru and Hikaru followed Haruhi with their eyes. They had puppy-dog pouts on their faces. There Haruhi was leaving them.

"Haruhi, where are you going?" Hikaru asked, right before she left through the cafeteria door. Haruhi turned back to look at them.

"I'm going to the Music Hall. I think I should give my body-guards company" Haruhi said as she left, "Also, they hopefully won't cause as much commotion,"

That was one of the reasons she left. Yet, there was some other reason she wanted to go back to the Music Hall. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. She supposed it was comfortable to be in a place that held so many memories for her. Plus, her whole original point for going into that room a long time ago was to avoid commotions.

However, she didn't think it was that reason either. It was a good reason, but not the one she was feeling. She didn't know what to make of it. It was mysterious. It was a familiar feeling, but not exactly. She'd started having this feeling this morning.

Haruhi sighed. She still remembered this morning fairly well. The moment she had walked out of the other room from measuring Gaara the Host Club was staring at her. She understood their concern. If it was revealed that she was a girl, it could be very troublesome.

Kyoya had given her that look of "We're going to fix this", but Haruhi had decided everything was going to be alright. The Host Club had collected in a small group away from the three ninja's and talked about. Yet…

Haruhi explained that they really didn't need to worry. She felt that it was going to be alright. She also felt, for some strange reason, that she trusted Gaara enough not to tell. The look on Kyoya's face that morning showed he wasn't as trustworthy about the boy as she was.

However, Haruhi then explained to them that technically he hadn't given away the fact she was a girl before them. She told the Host Club of how Gaara had known she was a girl from the beginning anyway. After that, most of the Host Club just accepted. Kyoya still didn't look as pleased though.

Haruhi couldn't see why Kyoya didn't like Gaara. For the most part, they seemed to have similar personality attributes. They were both quiet. They both had this powerful aura around them. They both didn't appear to like the other. Yet, they also had special things that made them different.

Haruhi felt she still didn't know too much about Gaara, but she was happily willing to learn more about him. She began to wonder if that was some of what she was feeling. It might be part of the mysterious feeling she had inside her. She also felt that it would be nice to know more about her other body-guards as well.

She finally made it to the Third Music Hall door and opened it while balancing her un-eaten lunch in the other hand. When she peeked her head inside she noticed one of her body-guards was missing. The strange feeling she had flickered. She walked in and closed the door behind her.

"Where is Gaara?" Haruhi asked, before she had time to think about exactly what she was asking. Sakura and Naruto looked up at her with surprise. Sakura stood up and walked towards Haruhi.

"Well, he left a while ago. We don't really know where he is," Sakura answered. Haruhi nodded. Then she noticed Naruto was staring at her intently. Or to be exact, he was staring intently at her food.

"Are you hungry?" Haruhi asked.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA! May I have some, please?" Naruto pleaded as he looked hungrily at Haruhi's lunch. Sakura looked at the food too with interest, but to a less extent than how Naruto was.

"Oh sure," Haruhi said as she offered Naruto her food. He happily took it and set it on the table. He waved over Sakura to come join him. Sakura bit her lip as she looked at the tempting bento box, but then looked back over at Haruhi.

"This is your lunch, isn't it?" Sakura asked with a frown. Naruto lifted his head from the meal, even though it wasn't ramen he had already dug in. His face held a guilty look. He didn't want to steal Haruhi's lunch.

"Ah, it's alright. I wasn't really that hungry. You can have it," Haruhi said with a weak smile. Sakura smiled back at Haruhi and thanked her. Naruto gave Haruhi his thanks too, and began to eat again happily.

"You're a really nice person, Haruhi" Sakura said as her smile widened, before sitting down next to Naruto. Haruhi was taken aback, but she accepted the compliment. She gave an awkward smile to show her thanks, and sat down beside the two ninja.

…………………………………..

The after-noon sun was arching to earth once again. The scorching heat it gave was a comfort only found at home in Gaara's opinion. He was fairly far away from the desert now, so a burning sun was a nice feeling.

He was currently sitting next to the fountain with the strange looking statue. His gourd was resting next to his feet as he stared off into nothingness. It was relaxing just bathing in the warmth of the sun. It gave him time to think.

He contemplated on his current mission or body-guarding job. He wondered if it was really worth it. Technically as Kazekage he didn't have to worry about money at all, but this job might help him learn more about protecting people. He wasn't entirely sure why he was questioning this job now.

He supposed he started questioning it this morning. A little after he had been measured, he had this strange feeling. He noticed Haruhi made him feel different, somehow. When he had first met her, he had been surprised that she wasn't scared of him. That was what had first interested him in her, yet now it felt like something out of the norm.

Gaara wasn't sure if he wanted this. In the back of his mind, he knew these feelings meant that he wanted to get closer to this girl. However, usually when he wants to get close to someone it hurts him in the end. It was a sad lesson he had learned when he was younger. He couldn't really decide if he could put his trust into someone. Would he be willing to risk it?

Gaara realized it was getting late, and he should probably start heading back inside now. He stood up from his spot by the fountain and hefted his gourd onto his back. He thought for a moment about something. Taking a step forward, he thought he might go ahead with his idea.

However, at that moment, Gaara was run into by someone. Gaara's narrowed after being assaulted. No-one dared ever to touch. Normally no-one could. Although Today, for the first time he had been distracted enough to be hit.

His aqua-marine eyes sharpened on the one who had run into him. Currently, that person was brushing off their school uniform looking slightly distressed. They had short blonde-hair, and when he looked up Gaara could see he also see he had deep blue eyes.

"My deepest apologies! I was in such a hurry I didn't see you. I'd talk longer, but my poor 'daughter' is in trouble!" the boy said before dashing off again.

Gaara blinked. He was confused on why that young man would have a daughter. He looked to be the same age Gaara was. Not bothering to dwell on the thought too long, Gaara set off to complete the task he had set for himself.

……………………….

"HARUHI!!!!" a voice yelled as Tamaki came bursting through the door. Sakura and Naruto jumped from being startled. Haruhi lifted her head and turned to look back at Tamaki curiously. She wasn't expecting him back so early. It hadn't even been the full second day she had had with her body guards.

"Who is this, Haruhi?" Sakura asked as she and Naruto got into fighting stances. They surrounded Haruhi and glared over at Tamaki. The poor Host King looked completely flustered. Haruhi was being protected from Him!

"It's an okay guy, that's just Tamaki…" Haruhi said as she stepped through the two ninjas. Sakura and Naruto slowly got out of their fighting stances and looked at flustered blue-eyed blonde in front of them.

"Oh my Haruhi! Are you alright?" Tamaki cooed as he ran over and clutched the girl to him. He hugged her tight and twirled her around. Sakura and Naruto watched with interest. Tamaki stopped spinning Haruhi and continued just to hold her.

"Ah Tamaki, why are…" but Haruhi was cut off as the Music Hall doors opened and a tiny figure bounded in. Honey smiled happily as he ran in with bun-bun in tow, while Mori followed in not so far behind.

"Tama-chan!" Honey-sempai gave a gasp, "Why are you back so soon? You just left yesterday!"

Tamaki released Haruhi from his hold, which the girl was truly thankful for. She was having trouble breathing. Mori closed the door and gave an "Aa". He too was interested in Tamaki's early return.

"Well, I was so worried about Haruhi! I had this feeling, and the mother called, I just had to rush back," Tamaki said as he put his hands on his cheeks and tilted his head to the side. Haruhi looked over at Tamaki curiously. Kyoya had called? But why?

Sakura stepped forward. She remembered that Tamaki was the one that had hired them. Naruto just scratched his head and watched the scene unfold. That is until Honey magically made a cake appear; Naruto was still hungry.

"Tamaki, sir. With you here, does that mean that our job is already finished?" Sakura asked. That funny feeling stirred in Haruhi again. That was right, if Tamaki was back than the body-guards would have to leave.

"Oh no. You're still needed here. I just came to check up on my dear Haruhi. Sadly, I had to get the practice business venture re-scheduled," Tamaki said a little crestfallen at the end. He was depressed about having to leave his precious daughter once again.

Haruhi was relieved for some reason upon hearing this. She had no idea why. Taking it as a sign she probably just wanted more of a break from Tamaki as the feeling, she let it slide. Sakura smiled happily. Naruto took another bite of cake that Honey offered him.

The door opened again. Kyoya walked in with his note-book at his side. Eyeing the group around him, he gave a nod that he acknowledged them. Tamaki ran over to Kyoya happily as the other boy turned on his lap-top.

"Oh mother, Haruhi is alright. Isn't that wonderful?!?" Tamaki said cheerily as he looked over at Haruhi lovingly. Haruhi just blinked. Kyoya continued to just type away on the keys not bothering to look up at Tamaki.

The room grew quiet for the most part. The one's that usually made all the noise were preoccupied. Naruto was stuffing his face and Tamaki was anxiously waiting for answer back from Kyoya. Once again the Third Music Hall door opened.

"I thought I specified that all of you that you wouldn't leave this room," Kyoya almost hissed. Gaara didn't say anything, but continued his way into the room. Tamaki blanched realizing this was the young man he had run into earlier. He also realized this young man kind of looked scary.

"Ah, I'm sorry for running into you earlier!" Tamaki said as he directed his full attention to Gaara. Sakura and Naruto were in shock. Someone had run into Gaara and had not gotten killed on the spot? Weird…

Gaara turned his head and gave Tamaki the most frightening evil eye he had ever seen. The Host king appeared simply horrified and went to go off and sit in one of his many corners. He cautiously looked at Gaara from the corner of his eye.

"The twins should be arriving with the new uniforms shortly," Kyoya said breaking the silence.

Naruto groaned from his spot. He didn't want to wear any new clothes. New clothes usually were always itchy. A dark look filtered on Gaara's face as he turned his face from the group to look out the window. Sakura looked simply distressed; she didn't want to wear the ugly banana yellow dress.

A few seconds later the twins burst through the door smiling. They usually only enjoyed getting new clothes for Haruhi to try on, but today would prove interesting. It seemed like the ruffian trio of ninja's hadn't had a fashion change in a while. Sure, it was only a school uniform. But, they felt that the fun was only just beginning. The twins looked at each-other before mischievous smirks flickered on their faces.

"Alright, come and get your new outfits," the twins said in unison. Naruto walked over frowning, and grabbed the bag with his name on it. The twins stuck their tongue at him and Naruto prepared to retaliate. However, he was stopped by Sakura as she bonked him on the head, before grabbing her new outfit.

That's when Hikaru noticed something in the corner. He bumped Kaoru in the side and pointed to Tamaki. They both raised their eye-brows and looked at each-other. When on earth had he gotten back? Oh well, more fun for them.

"Tamaki, would you mind giving these young men some hosting tips when they are done changing?" Kyoya asked, before the twins could get some taunting words out to bother the Host King. Tamaki nodded his head from the spot in his corner.

"Wait, hosting tips?" Naruto sputtered from his spot beside Sakura. The pink-haired girl next to him was a bit surprised. Where they kidding? Who on this planet would want to be hosted by Naruto? (Far away in Konoha, Hinata feels her heart beat faster for a moment and then she sneezes. She has no idea why.)

"Yes. You didn't think you'd be doing nothing while we hosted did you? Plus, if you're hosting it will make your stay here in this school less suspicious. Also, it might be a way to gain back some of the money you lost," Kyoya said as he continued to type away at his computer.

……………………………………..

Sakura sighed as she continued to stare at the ugly dress in front of her. The boys had already changed (both rather reluctantly) and were now being 'trained' by Tamaki on proper hosting technique. Sakura was not only reluctant to put the dress on, but she was somewhat unsure how.

"Do you need any help?" a voice from behind her asked. Sakura spun around from her spot and stared at Haruhi. Sakura's bright green eyes widened. She brought the ugly yellow dress and used it to cover herself. She was only in her under-wear.

"What are you doing in here?" Sakura almost screamed as a huge blush covered her face. Haruhi blinked and her face showed confusion. Then realization struck her. Haruhi stepped forward, while Sakura stepped back.

"Ah. It's alright. I just want to help you. I know how hard it is to put on that dress. By the way, I'm sorry for not telling you I was a girl. I guess that would've made this less confusing," Haruhi said calmly. Sakura faltered.

"You're a girl?" Sakura asked and Haruhi nodded, "Well that makes a lot more sense. Um yeah…could you please help me? This is pretty hard to do,"

Sakura lowered the dress and handed it over to Haruhi. It took a few minutes, but they finally got the pink-haired girl into the yellow dress. Haruhi zipped up the back of Sakura's dress and stepped back.

"There. You're done." Haruhi said. Sakura looked at herself in the mirror for a moment. A frown was on her face. When the dress was on her it didn't look too bad, but it still looked strange. She looked over at Haruhi.

"Why would you decide to dress like a boy?" Sakura asked with curiosity. She heard Haruhi sigh. The other girl sat down on a chair that was in the changing room. Sakura walked over and sat beside her. The dress made it weird to sit down. Sakura found it too frilly.

"I guess it's just a long story. Personally, I don't really care what gender people think I am. I was never really bothered by it. I guess I could say I just walked into the Third Music Hall. That's really were it all started," Haruhi said as she thought about it.

Sakura listened intently. She found most of it completely bizarre. However, technically her life wasn't perfectly normal either. She thought about the members in the host club. Her thoughts began to wander.

"The young men you work with are very handsome people," Sakura said without registering what she was saying. Haruhi looked at her and thought about it for a moment too. She supposed it was true.

"We have a lot of customers. I would think that is true," Haruhi said. Sakura nodded her head not really listening to what Haruhi said. Haruhi noticed that Sakura seemed to be off in her own world.

"Do you like anyone, Haruhi?" Sakura asked finally looking like she back in this world. Her head turned and her green eyes were focused on the other girl beside her. Haruhi was thrown off by the question. She had never really taken the time to think about it.

"I don't think I do, honestly. I mean, I like most of the Host Club. They each have their own special quirk that makes them admirable. But if you're talking about liking someone more than a friend, I don't think so. I've never really ever liked anyone that way," Haruhi said as she really took the time to think about it.

Sakura smiled and turned to look in the mirror again. She played with some of her pink locks, before lowering her hand again by her side. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She put her face in her hands.

"I like someone…more than a friend. I miss him a lot. I'm not entirely sure where he is at this moment, but I know my love for him is headed that way. I was stupid enough to tell him how I feel before he left…" Sakura said as she trailed off towards the end.

Haruhi noticed that Sakura looked saddened about talking about this. She wasn't entirely sure how they had gotten on this topic in the first place. Well, she was getting to learn more about her body-guards today.

"I don't think it's stupid that you told this guy your feelings before he left. At least you told him. You could have not said anything, and then he would have never known. Yet, now that he does know, maybe he'll something with that knowledge later on," Haruhi said, putting in her two cents.

Sakura smiled again and looked over at Haruhi. A lone tear had been traveling down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. Standing up, she prepared to leave the changing room. Haruhi stood up and began to follow her.

"Thank-you Haruhi. You have no idea how better that makes me feel," Sakura said looking back at Haruhi before walking out of the room. Haruhi was happy that she could make someone feel better.

…………………………………………………..

"And those are the basics of any host," Tamaki said looking as suave as ever. He smiled at the two young men in front of him. Naruto and Gaara said nothing as they stared at the babbling blonde in front of them. A bored sigh left Naruto's lips.

"Wow Naruto. You actually look pretty good in that outfit," Sakura said looking at her team-mate. Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. He didn't think he looked better like this.

"I don't like this at all. Sakura! They made me brush my hair!" Naruto complained as he messed with his no longer spiky hair. His hair now lay flat on his head. Sakura did think Naruto looked kind of strange. Then she thought about it for a while, and laughed. With his hair like, Naruto kind of looked like Lee.

"Don't laugh at me!" Naruto whined as he messed with the tie on his suit. He wasn't used to wearing a tie. It kind of felt like it was choking him. How he dearly missed his orange jump-suit.

"Our customers are here. Behave yourselves…" Kyoya said as he gestured Tamaki to get the door. As usual the sound of the clicking door registered in the Host Members minds and they were posed and ready for their guests.

The normal customers filtered in and happily went to their assigned host. However, each gazed in surprise at the seemingly new Host Members off in the corner. They focused their curiosity on the pair. What an interesting change.

One of them looked like they could be related to Tamaki, especially with his blue eyes and blonde hair. Except he didn't seem as refined or suave as the Host King. The other boy in the corner looked to be an entirely different story.

His deep maroon hair and dazzling aqua marine eyes set him apart from the other host members. The dark circles around his eyes made him look all the more exotic. However, it seemed he was disinterested in the happenings around him. His eyes were far-off, staring out the window. Some of the customers almost melted at his mysterious presence.

"Don't you think it's creepy that they're staring at us?" Naruto whispered to Gaara as he eyed the glances they were getting from the customers every now and then. Gaara shrugged and didn't look away from the window.

"I just ignore them…" Gaara stated plainly. Naruto sighed as he shuffled his feet. Seeing that the Host Members were busy, Naruto took the time to ruffle his hair to its normal glory. Satisfied, he leaned back against the wall and waited for the day to end.

The afternoon progressed nicely. A couple of curious customers had gone over to Naruto to visit. One or two daring ones actually attempted to approach Gaara. Some found that Naruto's brashness and straightforwardness was for them. A few found Gaara's brooding completely hot. Either way, by the end of the afternoon the two boys actually had a few customers.

"Thank Kami it's finally over…" Naruto said as he flopped back onto one of the couches. Sakura actually had to agree with him for once. She was ready to get out the giant frilly banana she was wearing.

"You guys did pretty well today…" Haruhi complimented. She had noticed that a couple of her usual customers had wandered their way. She had also been asked constantly, if the blonde-haired boy was Tamaki's relative.

Naruto had a goofy grin on his face as he made a comment on how he couldn't wait to tell Jiraiya about this later. Sakura rolled her eyes at that comment, and resisted the urge to hit Naruto for it. Gaara didn't say anything.

Haruhi had to admit. Gaara did look very handsome in a school uniform. She was surprised by how he had handled the hosting; she realized that he didn't really like to talk too much. She also noticed he didn't really like to be touched either, but he had somehow managed to attract quite a few girls.

She watched as he walked away from the spot at the window to the corner where he had placed his normal clothes and his gourd. Then he grabbed something she hadn't noticed before. It was a green grocery bag.

He turned around to face Haruhi. Their eyes met. Haruhi turned her head to the side. She hadn't realized she had been staring at him. She normally stared at people. It was kind of strange. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Gaara was walking towards her.

She turned to face him. He stopped a foot a way from her. There was a silent pause. It looked like Gaara was debating something in his head. Without a word, he lifted the green grocery bag up to Haruhi's face. She took it from his hands and just held it by her side.

"I got that for you earlier this afternoon… they should still be good," Gaara said. He never said anything else after that. Instead he turned away from her and headed towards his clothing. He picked them up and disappeared behind the changing room door.

Haruhi was taken-aback. She hadn't expected Gaara to get her something. She wondered what he got her. Lifting the bag up, she opened it. Inside was a lone black bento box. She took out the bento box from the bag and opened it up.

Her eyes widened in surprise. A happy smile fell to her face. She walked over to a chair and sat down. There was no way anyone could stop her from trying it now. Plus she was hungry from giving her lunch away. Haruhi not bothering to use chop sticks picked up one of the fatty tuna in the bento and took a bite. Fatty Tuna really was delicious.

Apparently, Gaara was going to risk it…

……………………………………………..

_**YAY! This is possibly the longest chapter I have ever written for fanfiction. WOOT! I really wanted you guys to have a long chapter. The delay for this chapter was pretty bad. Also, I'm taking this time to announce that I won't be updating for quite a while. A have a funeral to prepare for (I'm reciting a poem for the eulogy). I also have finals and a 4 test grade research paper. OO It's totally stressing me out man! Anyways, I hoped you liked this chapter. Please review! Or else I won't update…. evil smile**_


	8. Jealousy Strikes

Haruhi yawned as she rolled out of bed

Haruhi yawned as she rolled out of bed. She walked over to the place she had laid out her clothes for the day. Before she put on her baby blue blazer, she took the time to peek outside the window. There was no mass of people outside today, which meant Gaara hadn't come to pick her up for school today.

Haruhi found this curious. He had been around her a lot these past days, more so than the other bodyguards. For him to suddenly to just stop appearing like he usually did was strange. It unnerved her somewhat. One major reason it bothered her was that he had not walked her home yesterday either.

All these worrying thoughts really started appearing for Haruhi when she left Gaara to face Kyoya yesterday afternoon. Kyoya was the last person she had seen him speaking to. She was aware of the tension between those two. She didn't know the cause of it, but she knew it was there.

Haruhi hoped Kyoya hadn't fired Gaara. She imagined that would not go to well. A sigh escaped her lips. She pulled her jacket on and grabbed her bad. She placed her hand on the door-knob and looked back to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. After reassuring herself that nothing was left behind, Haruhi made it out the door and down the street.

Her mind wandered over many things. She realized for the first time ever that she wanted to be annoyed by someone. Alright not specifically annoyed; that just happened to be a trait she attached to some certain Host Club Members. Haruhi grumbled as those certain people entered her mind as she crossed the street. However, as soon as she was on the other side she noticed that she had digressed from the original thought.

Taking the time to get on the previous mind path, she realized she found herself willing to be noticed by someone. More than just being any particular person, it happened that she wanted to be noticed by a boy. Not only was he a boy, but he had actually figured out in the first five seconds of their meeting that she was a girl.

Haruhi took note that the only other person who had managed to do that was Kyoya. Yet, She assumed that couldn't be the cause of Kyoya's and Gaara's little grudge/ It seemed far too childish for Kyoya upset about who figured out Haruhi was a girl the fastest. Haruhi took a moment to realize she was once again digressing from the original thought.

A sigh escaped her lips as the school came into view. With a decision made, Haruhi decided to save her thoughts for later. She most likely wouldn't have a moment's peace to think anyway once she entered the building. Suddenly Haruhi herd the distinct noise of two twins stepping in unison as they attempted to sneak up on her.

"Good morning Hikaru and Kaoru," Haruhi said plainly. The footsteps came to a halt. Two disappointed groans echoed together. Haruhi looked back to see the now pouty-faced twins. The two tried to look as pathetic as possible.

"Haruhi! Why ruin our fun?" the twins whined. Haruhi resisted the urge to roll her eyes and continued her way past the fountain that stood in front of the school. She inched her school-bag a little bit higher onto her shoulder.

Then without warning two pairs of arms encircled around Haruhi's. Soon Haruhi found herself being dragged by the two overly exuberant boys. She was curious as to why they were doing this, and found herself more confused as the twins led her straight past the stairs that usually took her to the third music hall.

"Where are we going?" asked Haruhi in an inquisitive tone. The twins just laughed to themselves and held Haruhi tighter. Haruhi was pretty much used to being whisked away by random host members to places she never intended on going. It took the three a moment to squeeze through a doorway.

Haruhi was certain they looked ridiculous. Their cheeks smashed together so hard together they could feel each others teeth, Haruhi felt the twins smile. Somehow they finally managed to shove through the door and head done another hallway.

"If you really want to know Haruhi, We're headed to class early to see the new students introduce themselves," Hikaru said cheerfully. Haruhi blinked.

"What new students?" Haruhi asked. The twins just smirked as they inched nearer to the classroom. Other students eyed the trio along the way. The twins and Haruhi looked so sweet together some fan girls agreed.

"Why the Ones you met two days earlier," Kaoru answered. It finally clicked. So Haruhi's body-guards were coming to their class now? In made sense, since the bodyguards now had their uniforms, which meant they'd be around her all day. Oh well, she supposed it wasn't too bad.

The three had finally reached the destination of their classroom. The twins reluctantly released their hold of Haruhi. The girl released a sigh of relief and brushed her arms off. She wasn't bothered by the close contact, but she was happy to be able to breathe again.

She adjusted her bag that had started slipping off her shoulder on her journey here. She looked around the classroom. It was slowly starting to fill up, but it appeared her bodyguards had not arrived yet. Haruhi slowly made her way to one of the middle desk in the classroom and sat down. A second later the twins clambered around her and sat in desk beside her.

Minutes passed by and the bell rang signaling that first period was beginning. The bodyguards had still not arrived. The class was a large mass of activity. Since the teacher was still not in the class yet the students chattered amongst themselves. A click was heard at the classroom door and the teacher walked in.

"Hello Class, I am happy to say I will be introducing some new students joining the class," the teacher told the class. The chattering, which had somewhat silenced when the teacher walked in, had started up again. Haruhi's eyes shifted to the door. One by one her bodyguards stepped into the room. Some girls squealed as they recognized Gaara and Naruto from the Host Club yesterday.

Haruhi felt slightly sorry for the three. She could tell they looked extremely uncomfortable. Sakura twisted the hem of the puffy yellow dress with a face of something similar to disgust. Naruto continuously pulled on his tie, most likely because it was somewhat choking him. Gaara… Well, Gaara just looked extremely unhappy.

"Well, I would like you three to please greet the class. State your name, something about yourself, and then pick a place to sit down," the teacher said as he went over to his desk to stand off to the side. The three ninja shuffled their feet till finally Sakura sighed and was the first one to step up.

"Um hello my name is Sakura Haruno, and… my hair is naturally pink," Sakura said as she flicked her hair nervously for effect. Some hushed whispers were heard as Sakura quietly made her way to a seat behind Haruhi. Once she was seated down, she looked at Naruto expectantly.

The blonde caught sight of Sakura's look and sighed loudly. Practically bouncing over to the spot in the middle of the front of the room, he stopped. He looked up scanned the classroom and scratched his head. He adjusted his tie one more time.

"Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And I shall totally be the next Hokage! Believe it!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically. Some girls giggled and Naruto just smiled before hearing very distinct boos coming from the general area of the twins. He scowled as he headed to their direction.

This left Gaara by himself in the front of the class. Most girls turned their attention to him and sighed dreamily. He took a slow pace as he made his way to the front. Once he was there he laid his arms at his side.

"I'm Gaara. That's it," with that Gaara strolled to the desks. The class had gone silent and watched him curiously. Gaara pushed Naruto out of his way as he sat in front of Haruhi. The blonde had been arguing with the twins and was blocking the seat. Naruto looked like he was about to comment, but after discovering it was Gaara who had pushed him.

"Alright. That was…informative. I suggest when begin class," the teacher said as he went up to the board. He began writing math problems on the board and the class started chattering lightly to themselves again.

The twins stuck their tongues out at Naruto whom gave them a bitter look back. He had prompted for sitting for sitting next to Sakura. The pink-haired girl seemed completely bored and uncomfortable. She constantly was messing around with her dress. She despised yellow with her entire being. Haruhi couldn't tell how Gaara was feeling. She was currently just staring at the back of his head. Spiky maroon hair told her nothing about his current emotions.

"Gaara," Haruhi said lightly as she leaned forward in her desk. The spiky maroon shifted and soon light green eyes met hers. Haruhi leaned further over her desk. She realized she should have been listening to the teacher. She was only here because of her grades. Yet, for some reason this seemed more important currently.

"Yes?" Gaara quietly replied in his smooth deep voice. Haruhi's stomach fluttered for a moment. She wasn't sure why. She'd never felt something like this before. It felt like things were bouncing around in her tummy. She took a glance at the teacher before speaking. She didn't want to risk getting in trouble.

"I was curious as to why you…um why you guys didn't walk me home yesterday," Haruhi inquired. Gaara's lips thinned and he grew silent again. He seemed to thinking hard about something before he answered.

"I suppose it was just the talk with Kyoya that held me back. I am unsure where Naruto and Sakura were though. You can most likely ask them to take you home today if you really feel they should," Gaara replied. Haruhi listened intently. She began thinking about what Gaara said.

She started to wonder about Kyoya had talked to Gaara about again. The curious thought was eating at her. Normally she wouldn't succumb to curiosity so easily, but like a lot of things recently this was somehow different. She noticed that Gaara's head was still leaned back in his chair and he was looking at her. She decided it wouldn't hurt to ask what she wanted to know.

"What did you and Kyoya talk about?" Haruhi asked. Gaara's face darkened at the question. Haruhi decided perhaps she shouldn't have asked. She felt terrible when she saw Gaara turn back to face the front. Had she asked the wrong question? What did they talk about?

IHEARTGAARAIHEARTGAARAIHEARTGAARAIHEARTGAARAIHEARTHIM

_Gaara held a bundle in his hands. It was the new clothes he had received that day. He glanced out the window from the Third Music Hall. Everyone was slowly leaving. Sakura and Naruto had gone off somewhere, but he didn't particularly care. A snippet of brown hair came into his line of vision. It was Haruhi._

_He turned his head fully to watch her. She was collecting her things and giving everyone a small goodbye. She caught his gaze and smiled lightly at him. Grabbing her bag, she appeared to be heading out the door. Gaara prepared to follow her, but was stopped by someone._

_Kyoya glared coolly at him as he removed his hand from Gaara's shoulder. The other boy sent a glare of his own and watched as Haruhi went out the door. Gaara turned his attention back to the Shadow King and pushed back the horrible thoughts that were begging to come to the surface. Kyoya was entirely lucky the demon no longer resided inside him._

_"Where do you think you're going?" asked Kyoya icily. Gaara would have quirked a brow if he had one. What exactly was this guy up to? Gaara shifted his stance and held the bundle by his hip. His eyes narrowed slightly._

_"I was planning on taking the person in my care home, is there a problem?" Gaara retorted back. Kyoya obviously did not enjoy this answer. His glasses slid down his nose slightly and he gripped his little black notebook tighter. An evil look came to his eyes._

_"What you're doing is wrong and fairly inappropriate for your job," Kyoya snapped. Gaara just stared Kyoya down. He said nothing as he clenched his fist. He continued to push down his raging anger for this young man. Something inside wanted to come out and show Kyoya how he really felt._

_"What exactly do you mean?" Gaara ground out. He walked over to the window again. Staring outside always seemed to calm him down. He seriously needed at this point and time. Kyoya's face hardened further and he pushed his glasses up as he walked over to Gaara. He shoved the other boy aside. Gaara looked over at him with murderous intent._

_"You know exactly what I mean. Keep to yourself when around Haruhi, do nothing else but your job. As far as I'm concerned, the girl belongs to me by default. She owes a debt to me and as long as she does she's MINE!" Kyoya spouted out. This…outsider was grating on his last nerve. Besides, he could yell at him all he wanted. He didn't have to worry about losing anything from it._

_It took all of Gaara's will not to lash out at Kyoya. He tossed his bundle of clothes to ground and faced the other young man with dangerous looking eyes. He knew he couldn't do anything drastic or he'd get into quite a lot of trouble. He continued to clench and un-clench his fist._

_"You yell about how she's yours just because she owes at debt, but I know better. Just because I don't show my emotions openly doesn't mean I'm not honed in on others true intentions and feelings. We both know this more than about money, it's mostly about her. And no matter how rich or important you think you are, you can't own her!" Gaara snapped back. He had to find away to distract himself or else he might actually kill someone._

_Kyoya growled and tossed his notebook aside. He had never been this mad before. Not since that one time with Tamaki. Gaara had hit a soft spot. Both young men were now at their peak of anger. The third music hall was now a very dangerous place to be. Kyoya needed to say something, anything, to get back at the one who wasn't even supposed to be a waste of his time. Thinking back to what he had discovered about this boy earlier that sparked this conversation, a sadistic smirk came onto his face._

_"True, I don't own her. Yet I can be severely satisfied knowing that you will never have the chance to gain her interest, especially if she ever happened to find out about what you really are," Kyoya shot back. Both young men continued to stare each other down. However, a look in Gaara's eye showed that he was slightly worried._

_"What do you mean by that?" Gaara asked with a new strain to his voice. Kyoya's sadistic smile grew wider. He waltzed over to where his black notebook lay on the floor. He picked it up with a certain sarcastic grace and flipped a couple pages and pointed down to them with the greatest emphasis._

_"You may not be aware, but I am very thorough when I research something. I knew there was something off about you. I looked into your entire little bodyguard group's backgrounds. I had to do quite a lot of digging, and I was most intrigued by what I found. Apparently you have a fairly dark past; you even killed a few people. Normally after finding out information like this I would call the police, but then I realized something. It would be far more satisfying if I didn't and just let you suffer while you must care for a girl you seem to have feelings for, but she can never love you back. And you know that…" Kyoya said. _

_Gaara's face went blank. Kyoya had hit where exactly he wanted to. He hit the heart. Gaara looked to the floor. Kyoya had a cheeky look on his face. It was obvious that he had won this round. A battle of words was an interesting thing for Gaara to lose. If it had been a physical fight it was certain he would win, but this was far different. He gave Kyoya one last cold look before picking up his bundle of clothes and leaving._

_HARUHIHARUHIHARUHIHARUHIHARUHIHARUHIHARUHIHARUHIHARUHIHAR_

Haruhi had leaned back into her chair. Gaara had remained silent for over a minute now. She felt horrible for some reason, and she didn't even do anything. Suddenly she caught the sound of his voice, but she had missed what he had said. She leaned closer in again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said," Haruhi said. Gaara's head once again shifted to where he was looking back at her. A pained look was in his eyes. Haruhi was surprised. A different feeling floated in her stomach. This one was not so pleasant.

"I said that my conversation with Kyoya was nothing important," Gaara replied. He turned back around so he was no longer facing Haruhi. She didn't say anything back and finally started paying attention to the teacher again. She was somewhat aware that Gaara was not being entirely truthful to her, but she would ignore that for now.

After a few classes the small group now following Haruhi headed to lunch. Sakura commented that she would rather wear pants and questioned if Haruhi had an extra uniform. Haruhi commented back that she didn't and Sakura went back to complaining about having to wear the stupid yellow dress.

Naruto picked up his pace as they headed to the cafeteria. He desperately pleaded and hoped there would be ramen there. Gaara hadn't spoken since the classes had started except for the few moments he had spoken to Haruhi. When she discussed it quietly with Sakura, the other girl assured her that was normal behavior.

The twins hovered about the group and on occasion pestered Naruto. They finally made it to the cafeteria, but the fun wasn't over yet. Oh no. Tamaki rushed over to Haruhi and hugged her tightly as he twirled her about. After much convincing he set her down a minute later. Tears were forming on the edges of his eyes.

"Oh my dear daughter I must leave your side once again, but never fear I shall return home in about three days. Just three days!" Tamaki said histrionically. At times Tamaki could be such a ham. He hugged Haruhi once more and headed out of the cafeteria reluctantly.

The host king made it outside of the building and continued to look longingly behind him. He was most upset about having to leave his dear daughter behind once more. A light cough caught his ear and he turned beside him. It was mother.

"Ah Kyoya, hello. I didn't see you there. Are you seeing me off?" Tamaki asked enthusiastically. Kyoya said nothing and adjusted his glasses. He brought up his black notebook and brushed off some dust that had gotten on it from being thrown to the floor earlier. He looked back up at Tamaki.

"I suppose you could say that. How were Haruhi and her bodyguards?" Kyoya asked. Tamaki looked back over to the school and put his hand by his mouth. He gazed back over at Kyoya.

"I'm certain Haruhi was already missing me, but was putting on a show for my benefit. As for her bodyguards, they seemed alright. Nothing seemed out of place. Do you still suspect Gaara has feelings of ill intent?" Tamaki asked seriously. Kyoya tried to hide a scowl before answering Tamaki.

"Indeed I do. However, I assure you that you have absolutely nothing to worry about. If anything does happen I'll be right on it," Kyoya answered before lifting his black notebook over his face to hide his sadistic smile.

ENDCHAPENDCHAPENDCHAPENDCHAPENDCHAPENDCHAPENDCHAPEND

This chapter had a lot more serious tone than the other ones. However, it was required for plot development. Kyoya was so evil (I almost felt bad for making him look bad, I do enjoy Kyoya). Oh well. What's done is done. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for the horrendously long wait, Schools bean a monster. RAWR! Please Review. Love and Kissess! I promise more fluff, fun, and humor in the next chapter!


	9. Image Consultant

"I'm sooo hungry!" Naruto whined loudly into Sakura's left ear. The pink-haired ninja twitched in her seat. She was already annoyed about wearing the very uncomfortable banana yellow dress; Naruto was only making the situation more irritable. Sakura ground her teeth together as she held back the urge to pummel him.

"Sorry Naruto. I don't have any food to give you," Sakura bit out as she adjusted the bow on her dress. A whiny groan escaped Naruto's lips as he sunk lower in the chair he was sitting in. The two were once again stuck in the music hall.

"Where's Gaara anyway? Shouldn't he have to suffer with us?" Naruto mumbled aloud as his head lolled to the side on the arm-rest of the chair. Sakura sighed as she stopped messing around with her bow.

"I don't know Naruto. He and Haruhi left a while ago after Kyoya came into the room," Sakura said tiredly. At the mention of the Shadow King, Naruto shifted his head to look to the other side of the room where Kyoya was quietly typing away on his laptop. For some reason he looked pissed.

"Hey since you are employer and stuff, aren't you obligated to feed us?" Naruto yelled across the Music Hall. Kyoya paused in his typing. He turned his head to face Naruto.

"No," was Kyoya's curt blunt answer before pressing a button on the keyboard rather forcefully. Naruto almost growled. This guy Kyoya was ten times worse than the Teme.

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The wind brushed against the leaves and shook the tree. They sat quietly under one of the rustling trees. Haruhi gripped the stone bench under her fingers. She gazed over at Gaara who was sitting beside her in silence. He noticed her watching him and he turned to her.

"Are you mad at me?" Haruhi finally asked. Gaara was taken off guard by the question. He adjusted the strap on his gourd and turned more towards her. He was curious as to why she would ask something like this.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Gaara asked softly as the wind shaking the trees blew through his hair. Haruhi said nothing for a moment. She let the silence fall back into place for a bit.

"I'm not sure. It was just earlier…you seemed so upset after I asked about your conversation with Kyoya," Haruhi said honestly. Gaara's face contorted slightly when Kyoya's name was brought up again. Haruhi immediately noticed this.

"As I said, it was nothing important," Gaara said as he turned away from Haruhi. Haruhi was unsure what to do. It was happening again; he reacted the same way earlier. Haruhi placed a hand gently over his.

Gaara felt the warmth of heat coming from Haruhi's hand. It was a nice feeling in his opinion. He turned his eyes back to her. She only looked at him with those warm brown eyes of hers. It made him feel something different…

Haruhi wasn't sure what the strange feeling inside of her stomach was. She had never felt anything like it before. The look in Gaara's eyes was different now than it had been a minute it ago. His eyes seemed softer.

"I know Kyoya and you don't get along very well. I can tell just by watching how you interact with each other. Whatever he said to you, just ignore it. I usually do for the most part," Haruhi said as she gave a small smile.

Gaara simply nodded his head. His aqua marine eyes showed his thanks. Haruhi squeezed his hand a bit tighter and he squeezed back. The quietness came back, but it was nicer now. A sudden urge came over Haruhi as she continued to look over at Gaara.

Not sure of what she was doing, Haruhi began to lean her face towards Gaara. Gaara noticed her leaning in and his back stiffened as he froze into place. What was happening? Neither of them was entirely sure.

Haruhi stopped a centimeter away from Gaara's face. He hadn't moved from his spot and he continued to stare at her curiously. Gaara wasn't so used to have someone so close to his face. Even though it was Haruhi, he still felt a bit uncomfortable. Haruhi was unsure of what to do now. A voice broke the moment.

"Haruhi!" a cheerful childish voice said. Haruhi turned her head and her light brown hair brushed over Gaara's face. The maroon-haired insomniac pulled his head back and rubbed his nose. Haruhi's hair had tickled.

"Hello Honey-sempai," Haruhi said as the adorable blonde leaped into her lap smiling. A pink bunny was shoved in her face as Honey animatedly told her that everyone was waiting for her to return to the Music Hall.

"Aa," Mori said as he lifted Honey off of Haruhi and placed the blonde so that he sat on his shoulders. Mori looked down and noticed that Haruhi's and Gaara's hands were still linked. His brows furrowed but he said nothing else as he turned around and began to walk back to the school with Honey happily riding on his shoulders.

"Come on Haruhi!" Honey called back as he turned his head to smile. He waved Bun-Bun in the air with one hand, while his other arm was securely around Mori's neck so he didn't fall. Haruhi sighed and gazed back at Gaara. He was still staring at her with a look of confusion in his eyes. Haruhi let go of his hand and stood up.

"We have to go…" Haruhi said as she began to walk back to the school. Gaara said nothing in reply and stood up to follow her. They made their way silently back to the grand entrance of Ouran High School not too far behind the two other host club members.

The third music hall was already buzzing as the four entered the room. A few female students were hovering around Naruto as some had claimed him their new host. Of course the other girls were either happily observing the antics of the twins or had been waiting for the return of Mori, Honey, Haruhi, and surprisingly a few of the braver ones had been waiting for Gaara.

Kyoya eyed Gaara with disdain, but made no apparent to scold the body-guard for leaving the music hall. Technically, Gaara had been doing his job. A sudden rumbling sound broke Kyoya out of his thoughts. That rumbling sounded oddly familiar for some reason. Oh dear…

Renge popped out of the ground on her spinning turntable in a sassy new outfit and microphone in hand. She had a cat-like grin on her face as she glanced down at the other occupants of the room from her above platform. She jumped off the platform and seemed to float down perfectly till her feet touched the ground.

"Oh hohohohohoho…" Renge let out her high-pitched giggle as she covered her mouth in that usual way she did. Naruto and Sakura looked at the girl like she was completely insane. Gaara just gave her a curious glance and then turned his attention elsewhere.

"Miss Houshakuji, can I help you?" Kyoya asked the loud and outspoken girl as she twirled around seeming to be looking for something. Renge put her finger on her chin and seemed to be in thought. Then it seemed she found what ever she was looking for.

"As manager for this host club I thought it best that I inspect these new members you brought in to host. I need to see if they are up to my standards. I also need to see if they have a good story…" Renge proclaimed before trailing off as she eyed Naruto who twitched involuntarily when she looked at him. She began to approach the blonde slowly.

For the most part the people in the room went back to what they were doing. The other host members just ignored the self-proclaimed manager. As long as she was not doing that scary-medusa thing she was harmless to them. Naruto was not as lucky, however. Renge was right up in his face now and scrutinizing him. He fidgeted under her gaze. She was starting to freak him out.

"Uh…" Naruto said as the girl started poking and prodding him now. Sakura watched from afar as her poor friend was getting abused by this random girl that no one had properly introduced. Sakura supposed that perhaps the only good thing about wearing this dress was that she wasn't being abused like Naruto was. That was the only good thing about wearing this giant banana.

"Hmmmm….yet another blond. However, he doesn't have Honey's cuteness or Tamaki's suave. He is rougher around the edges. He also has some wild hair that seems untamed. He passes…" Renge said after finishing her inspection of Naruto. She was now off to observe Gaara, whom felt his impending meeting.

He turned his aquamarine eyes on her in an already set glare, but she continued to approach him anyway. Renge began to smirk and that made Gaara slightly uncomfortable. Renge looked Gaara up and down. She seemed satisfied and then proceeded to reach out her hand to examine Gaara the same way she had with Naruto. However, a voice stopped her pursuit.

"Gaara doesn't like to be touched," Haruhi's voice cut in from beside the boy. Renge noticed that Haruhi's hand was placed lightly on Gaara's shoulder as she said this almost contradicting the statement, however, Renge also noticed that Gaara's rigid posture seemed to relax when Haruhi did this. Curious…

"Oh well. He's been approved anyway. The way he carries himself is good enough for me. Those brooding exotic eyes start the perfect fantasy for any girl looking for a dark mysterious young man. I imagine he will do very well. But you know, he reminds me of someone with that dark red hair of his. What was his name? Casanova? " Renge said, her voice fading as she got lost in thought trying to remember the other Ouran High School student's name.

"You mean Kasanoda? As in Ritsu Kasanoda?" Gaara spoke for the first time since the rather strange girl had started scruitinizing him. The room stood still at this comment. Most of the other Host members looked at him curiously, especially Haruhi.

"You know him?" Haruhi asked as she removed her hand from his shoulder. Gaara nodded. Renge watched with interest as these events unfolded before her. Kyoya eyed Gaara more suspiciously now. How would he know of Kasanoda?

"Yes. Ritsu is my cousin," Gaara answered. The girls being hosted began to chatter again in little excitable coos. The host members were taken by surprise by the new information. More importantly, Sakura and Naruto were surprised as well. They were not aware Gaara had other family members.

"Even I didn't know that…" Kyoya whispered under his breath as he opened up his lap top to confirm this. The clacking of his computer keys lost to the multiple conversations of the people in the room. Renge was fully intrigued now. She had not expected opening this particular can of worms.

Then something struck her. Haruhi had once again caught the eye of a red head. Casanova being the last one of course. Renge wasn't bothered by this in the least. It left room for a juicy storyline. Various scenarios from past dating Sims she had played filtered through her mind. This could be absolutely fabulous…

"Oh hohohohohoho," Renge laughed loudly. Kyoya glanced at the girl again after hearing this second laugh, taking time to pause in his research. He realized this meant the girl was most likely up to something else now. He'd figure out what it was later. Presently he was too occupied with other things than to deal with Renge. However, if he knew what she had planned now he'd most likely be more worried…

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_**I'm so sorry for the delay. For those that have been loyal to this story then just wait a little longer, because there is going to be a surprise when the next chapter comes around. Speaking of the next chapter, I am not entirely sure when I'll be posting it. I'm starting school next week and I'm getting a job. I feel bad that this chapter was so short, so the next chapter will be longer, but I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to type. Also I'm going to try to post it when the surprise is finished. Lol. There are many variables, but I hope they don't discourage you. Okay. Well, if you thoroughly enjoyed this chapter PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	10. Your Surprise

Dear Readers,

_Dear Readers,_

_The surprise I had planned for you was finished sooner than expected due to the fact my friend and I worked non-stop pulling an all-nighter to finish it. Now before I present you with the surprise I am going to tell you how all of this started, as in why I wrote this fanfiction and so forth. _

_Last summer my friends and I had gathered around a pool and had been discussing anime and manga. It was a popular topic among us. Well, we started talking about who Haruhi should be paired up with. I had wandered a bit off from the pool at this point and was not in a good hearing range. So the first thing I heard from that spot surprised me and I yelled from afar "Did you just say GaaraxHaruhi?". In truth, I simply misheard them, but we all agreed that was a brilliant idea. Thus we decided to dedicate our time and efforts to try to make this a known pairing. _

_We split ourselves up in three groups. One person would do the fanfic, one would do fanart, and one would make an AMV. In actuality, I was not the original person selected to do the fanfiction. In fact, I was doing fanart. Somehow though, in the midst of it all, I ended up participating in all three. I ended writing the fanfic (which I don't mind. It's quite fun). Yet, I also drew about a hundred pictures of fan art for the AMV. So all in all, I've done a lot. _

_**Now for your surprise…**_

(Take out spaces)

_**AMV: ht t p : / / w w w . youtube . com / watch?v (there's an equal sign here, for some reason doesn't like it) Tje1p PiQIgY**_

_**Fan art: ht t p : / / gaaraxharuhi4eva . deviantart . com /**_

_**I hope you enjoy your surprise. It took a lot of work. Lol. X3**_


	11. Learning What Love Is

After Renge left the scene, the third music hall had quieted down somewhat; aside from the usual banter and chaos that took place. The members had gone back to hosting as normal. However, Haruhi couldn't help but glance once in a while at Gaara. She was still wondering about what had almost happened earlier outside. What had that been? Or what would have that been?

"Haruhi?" a quiet voice asked. The oblivious host member turned her head back around. One of her customers was eyeing her patiently. The other school girl had her hands in her lap and bit her lip. Haruhi cursed herself internally. She had been neglecting her customer. Someone was going to be upset. Haruhi turned her gaze to Kyoya. Yes, he looked…well like he usually did, which meant he wasn't happy in the least.

"Aa. I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Haruhi asked finally turning back her attention to the customer. Something Haruhi did or said seemed to brighten the features on the other girls face. Haruhi wasn't the best rookie for nothing. The other girl happily waved off Haruhi's lack of concentration. Another conversation started and soon enough a fresh customer came to fill the other customer's place.

Sakura managed to sneak to the corner of the room as she flopped into a chair. She hated yellow. She hated frills. She hated giant unnecessary bows. She hated this dress with every fiber of her being. Sakura shifted her eyes left to right before reaching down and scratching at her leg.

Naruto, surprisingly, was doing slightly better. Curious girls hovered around him as he talked animatedly about becoming the Hokage. Most of the girls weren't entirely sure what a Hokage was, but Naruto was so very entertaining. The girls giggled and swayed as Naruto smiled brightly.

Gaara was an entirely different matter. It wasn't that he was doing a bad job. It was more that he didn't quite shine with the same light Naruto did. Gaara glowed more like a single lit candle flickering in the darkness of a haunted mansion. He held that mysterious aura about him. Some of the customers simply ate that up. Their approaches were always cautious at first, but once in his presence they were content. Some would ask Gaara questions, but he only chose to answer one of the questions now and then.

The regular hosts still had their fill. The twins loved on each other, Honey attempted to feed bun-bun cake, Mori sat quietly and watched as Honey attempted to feed bun-bun cake, and Kyoya typed away at his keyboard.

Afternoon faded closer into the early evening and it was time for the customers to leave. When the last of the girls' left the room, Kyoya moved from his laptop. The host members attempted to pack up and leave themselves when Kyoya cleared his throat loudly.

"The weather has cleared up nicely outside, so we'll be having a theme for tomorrow," Kyoya said in a bored tone. The newly added members to the Host Club looked at each other curiously. Well, Naruto did most of the looking, but Gaara was still curious.

"Aa. What kind of theme?" the twins asked in unison as they leaned into each other. Kaoru wrapped his arm around Hikaru as Hikaru leaned on Kaoru's shoulder. The twins gazed at Kyoya expectantly. The shadow king lifted his hand and adjusted his glasses higher up on his nose.

"It's going to be a sports theme," Kyoya answered simply. The twins glanced one at the other and smirked. A devious plan already forming in their heads. Honey smiled brightly, spinning Bun-Bun about him.

"I can be a professional jump roper!" Honey cheered enthusiastically. Mori said nothing, but patted Honey on the head. The tiny blonde peered up at Mori still smiling as he clutched Bun-Bun to him.

"I think my dad has an old tennis outfit I can wear…" Haruhi said voicing her thoughts aloud. Her index finger was poised on her chin as she continued to think. The twins slinked around Haruhi as she thought over it. They snuck their arms up under hers and leaned their heads on either shoulder.

"We can make you a tennis outfit" the twins purred as they tilted their heads to talk into Haruhi's ear, "We love to dress up our toy"

Sakura was completely flustered as she watched this scene unfurl before her. She wanted to protect Haruhi, but at the same time also wanted to be in that compromising situation herself. She almost wished she was in-between the twins. The pink-haired girl's face exploded with a blush at the thought.

Naruto's mind was still spinning over what sport he would do. The blonde ninja pondered over what sports he actually knew how to play and where he could get the clothing for them. Then Naruto's thoughts shifted to ramen. Ramen was the best. Come to think of it, he was awfully hungry. He could go for a nice steaming bowl of ramen. Naruto licked his lips subconsciously.

Gaara was absolutely livid on the inside. His face and body didn't reveal the anger, but fiery lava burned on the inside. He wasn't entirely sure why he was mad. He just knew that he was. Gaara put one foot forward as he prepared to stop them, but Haruhi seemed to rescue herself.

"I think my dad's outfit will be fine…" Haruhi said plainly as she slipped out from the twins grasp. Haruhi avoided being _caught _again by the two as she tilted to the side heading for her school bag. The twins pouted, but waved off as they headed for home.

After the twins had left, Honey happily skipped towards Haruhi. The girl looked up as she slid her bag on her shoulder. Honey bounced on the balls of his feet as he snuggled Bun-Bun close to his chest. His childlike smile beaming.

"Bun-Bun and I will be happy to see you tomorrow in your tennis outfit. I hope I look good in my jump rope clothes," Honey said gazing up at Haruhi. The other host member nodded her head.

"Yes, Honey-Sempai…" Haruhi said. Mori slowly approached the two. His hands sitting in his pockets as he looks at them. Mori tilted his head to the side slowly to gesture towards the door.

"Hn" Mori grunted. Honey seemed to immediately register what Mori had _said_ and clapped excitedly. Honey bounded over the rest of the way to Mori and the other young man lifted him up. Honey smiled as he leaned over Mori's shoulders, and wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck. Honey's head popped up from behind Mori's.

"Our brothers' are participating in a tournament. We're going to go watch them. Do you want to come too, Haruhi!?!" Honey asked. Mori and Honey turned their eyes on Haruhi expectantly. Honey hugged tighter to Mori's back as he waited for Haruhi's answer with anticipation.

"Ano. I'm sorry Honey-Sempai. I need to do my homework," Haruhi replied. Honey's face fell and Mori almost seemed downtrodden himself. Honey leaned his head low on Mori's shoulder with a deep pout.

"Okay Haruhi…" Honey replies and begins to smile softly, "Good-bye Haruhi!"

With that said, Mori and Honey made their way out the third music hall. Haruhi watched them leave and gazed around the room. The only person left was Kyoya. The shadow king noticed Haruhi's eyes were on him and turned to face her. Haruhi shifted her feet.

"Do you know where my bodyguards went?" Haruhi asked. Kyoya's eyes narrowed and he turned back to his laptop. There was a long moment of silence that followed as Kyoya merely clicked away on the keyboard, but finally he answered her.

"They left to change into their normal clothes while you were talking to Mori-Sempai and Honey-Sempai. That pink-haired one seemed ecstatic about getting out of her dress. Or so she exclaimed," Kyoya replied. Haruhi nodded her head and went over to sit in a chair to wait. Kyoya followed her movements out of the corner of his eye as he closed his laptop and prepared to go home.

"They're coming back?" Haruhi questioned. Kyoya said nothing as he placed his laptop in his bag and continued to pack. When he was finished, he walked over to where Haruhi sat.

"I can take you home," Kyoya said out of the blue. Haruhi glanced up confused. Kyoya appeared the same as he always he did. His face was indifferent and stood completely straight, only tilting his head down to look at her. For Haruhi it was a very strange occurrence for Kyoya to say something like this, but the young man seemed unfazed.

"Excuse me?" Haruhi asked unsurely. Perhaps there was a chance she misheard him. Kyoya made a huff sound and looked at Haruhi pointedly. His eyes seemed to say 'Feel lucky that I'm bothering to repeat myself' Kyoya adjusted his glasses again.

"I'm aware that most likely you are waiting on your bodyguards to walk you home, but I will take you home," Kyoya said. Haruhi blinked. Kyoya was being awfully generous today. She wasn't entirely sure why. She was certain that Kyoya would able to manipulate it into a business venture of some kind to add to her debt.

"That's alright; I am fine with walking home. I don't want to be a burden," Haruhi said. Kyoya seemed unhappy with this answer, because his eyes darkened a bit. The shadow king seemed much put off.

"Haruhi, I believe you should really reconsider your decision," Kyoya bit out calmly. Haruhi shifted on her feet again.

"Are you threatening me, Kyoya-sempai?" Kyoya's face cooled at Haruhi's words. He turned abruptly on his heels and made his way to the door.

"Don't be ridiculous Haruhi. I was simply making a kind offer, which you rejected indefinitely. I was merely hoping you'd reconsider. It seems my hopes were in vain…" Kyoya exited the room after he finished speaking. Haruhi continued to sit in her chair after Kyoya left. A new awkward silence had formed after his absence. The silence was only broken when Sakura bounded back into the room.

Sakura twirled happily around in her normal attire. No more ugly hideous ugly dress for her, well at least until tomorrow. Sakura spotted Haruhi sitting in the corner of the room and waltzed toward her. The pink-haired ninja sat beside Haruhi.

"I'm so happy to be out of that dress. You're so lucky that you can wear pants…" Sakura spoke conversationally. Haruhi moved her bag in her lap and turned to look at Sakura. She was still a little put off by Kyoya's odd behavior. Haruhi rubbed her hand on the material of her pants.

"I suppose I am lucky, but I'd much rather wear a t-shirt and shorts. I don't like ties very much," Haruhi commented. Sakura giggled into her hand.

"The guys hate ties too. That's what is taking them so long, I bet!" Sakura said laughing again. Haruhi smiled lightly and placed her hands comfortably in her lap. Sakura's laughter eased down till it faded away. There was another quiet moment, but it was a more pleasant quiet.

Haruhi shifted in her seat again. Her mind was swimming with thoughts. First her thoughts had wandered around Kyoya's strange behavior, but then shifted to Gaara. What had almost happened? It still ate away at her. Haruhi looked up at Sakura.

"How do you know when you like someone?" Haruhi asked. Sakura was startled by the question, and it took her a moment to register what was actually asked. She turned to Haruhi smiling, but ever curious.

"Why do you want to know?" Sakura questioned. Haruhi appeared thoughtful for a moment as if she was truly searching for the correct answer. Except there was no exact right answer.

"Underneath it all, I am still a girl. Not like most girls, but I am still a girl. There will be a time when I like a boy. I'm just uncertain on how it's supposed to feel. If I like someone, I want to be aware of it. Does that make sense?" Haruhi replied. Sakura was stumped.

The ninja bit her lip as she took time to think about it. This was a tough question. She had just fallen for Sasuke. There was no rhyme or reason for it. The first thing that caught her attention was the fact he was undeniably cute, but after that it was different. She loved him…

"Honestly Haruhi, I don't think I can answer. When you like someone, it just happens. There's no way to explain it. There's no logic in it. I just love Sasuke…" Sakura answered trailing off at the end. When the pink-haired ninja realized what she said aloud he face turned scarlet.

Haruhi was pleased with Sakura's answer, even if it didn't really solve anything. The last part of Sakura's speech made Haruhi smile. Sakura was so honest in her emotions. It was cute to watch her blush. Haruhi wished a majority of the girls' in the school could be a little like Sakura. It would probably make Haruhi feel a bit better about her student body.

"Freedom!!!" came an obnoxious shout. Sakura lost her blush and sighed as Naruto burst into the room. Gaara silently followed behind him. Naruto jumped up and down carrying the school uniform in one arm. Haruhi stood up and pulled her bag onto her shoulder.

"Are we ready to go?" Haruhi asked eyeing the two young men. Gaara turned his gaze to her and Haruhi felt a weird tingle stir in her stomach. After hearing what Haruhi had said, Naruto stopped bouncing around and stared at her.

"Oh. Are we walking you home?" Naruto said somewhat disappointed. Sakura stood up and smacked Naruto upside the head. She then commented that Naruto's reaction was completely rude. Haruhi blinked.

"Naruto do you have any manners at all?" Sakura seethed. Gaara continued to say nothing and turned his eyes to a wall in the room and stared at it blankly. Naruto rubbed his abused head and glowered at Sakura.

"I'm not trying to be rude. I am just really really hungry. If I don't have some ramen soon, I'll DIE!!!" Naruto said dramatically as he leaned over looking pathetic. Sakura groaned and smacked her forehead. Naruto was such a ham.

"I think I have some ramen at my apartment. You can walk me home, and then I can make some for you," Haruhi suggested. Naruto glowed at Haruhi's offer. He rushed over and took her in his arms to hug her tightly. Haruhi struggled to breathe. This somewhat reminded her of her normal interactions with Tamaki.

"Thanks so much! You're the best?" Naruto said enthusiastically as he held Haruhi closer. Suddenly the girl was ripped out of his grip. Naruto was left holding air, and fell forward. Haruhi felt like she was floating momentarily. When she finally regained her surroundings she found herself in someone else's arms.

Gaara just gazed down at Haruhi as he held her bridal style. Sakura eyes widened at the scene. Gaara had literally just snatched the girl out of Naruto's grasp. Not that she could blame him. Haruhi looked like she was turning blue from lack of oxygen. Naruto slowly picked himself off the ground.

"Are you alright?" Gaara asked softly. Haruhi was so taken off guard, she could only nod. Gaara leant forward and gently placed Haruhi back on her feet. Haruhi still held onto Gaara's neck for a moment before letting go. Sakura clapped her hands together catching everyone's attention.

"Okay then. I think it's time to go!"

ENDCHAPTERENDCHAPTERENDOFCHAPTERENDCHAPTER

YAY! Update! I'm attempting to finish up almost all my fanfics before I gradutate highschool this year. Heh heh. (Severely doubts it). But hey, it's worth a shot. Gives me a purpose. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Review for me my sweeties! Love and kisses! XD


	12. The Main Event

The sun was shining brightly on the spacious back lawn of Ouran Academy. The sky was a pleasant blue, the grass a stunning green, and the huge crowd of High School girls as excitable as ever. It would truly be an eventful day for everyone.

"Hikaru, you're embarrassing me…" Kaoru said shyly as the other twin clicked the buckle of a helmet under his chin. Hikaru placed a hand on Kaoru's cheek and brushed it through his hair. He looked longingly into his brothers eyes.

"I just need to know you're safe Kaoru," Hikaru replied softly. An eruption of squeals and giggles was heard in the background. The girls swooned over the site at the not so normal _brotherly love._

The two were now decked in various forms of safety gear. For the mini-sports day, the two had decided to try an American sport. Both were dressed to fit the part. Matching baggy cargo pants covered their legs and the pants held up by multi-colored studded belt-buckles. Long loose shirts hung from their shoulders. To finish off the attire were matching black vans. The twins released each other laughing happily as they picked up their boards.

The two ran towards the highly expensive ramps made especially for today's events. The girls' eyes traveled after them taking in every sight. Today was a treat like no other, seeing the twins in an entire new look. Kaoru stopped near the ramp and lowered his board by his feet. He bit his lip and gazed at Hikaru.

"But what if I fall?" Kaoru asked innocently.

"Then I'll be there to catch you…" Hikaru said sweetly. Some of the girls fainted at that. It was far too much. For those lucky few still standing, their attention was set. Cheers permeated the air as the twins took to the ramps.

Meanwhile the other customers focused on their favorites. Honey hopped to his spot set out for jump-roping. He had a mini exercise suit made just for him. The tiny blonde's hair was pushed back by a sweat band. Honey positioned himself.

A pink jump rope was held tightly in his hands. A determined look came to his face, although it just came out appearing adorable. The rope moved over his head and Honey excitedly jumped. His feet landed on the rope. The young man frowned.

"Aw. Oh well, I'll try again…" Honey said happily. It took him five more tries to get started, but he finally succeeded. A chorus of applause followed his triumphant jump. Honey giggled as he eyed Bun-Bun out of the corner of his eye.

The stuffed bunny had its own light blue sweat band around its head. The bunny's head lolled to the side as his owner continued to hop up and down. The girls' cooed as Honey mentioned that now he was like Bun-Bun, a joyful jumping bunny.

That is until his foot caught on the rope as he swung it around it. Honey's face looked shocked as he began to wobble. Then the small young man started to tip forward. The customers watched as their beloved host headed in what seemed like slow motion towards the ground.

"Takashi!" Honey cried out as he braced his arms forward. Out of nowhere, Mori rushes over clad in his Kendo uniform. He reaches forward and catches Honey. The tiny blonde balances his stomach on the larger boy's arms. Honey giggles lightly and stands u straight giving a happy cheer and pats Mori on the head, "Thank-you Takashi!"

"SO CUTE!!!!!" a chorus of girlish coos erupted. Much applause was given for Mori's most _heroic efforts. _Not all of the girls present were so easily impressed. Sakura had watched the Host Club's antics with the utmost curiosity. The pink-haired quirked a brow and turned to Haruhi.

"I don't think I quite understand some of your friends share…" Sakura commented in a questioning tone. Haruhi shrugged her shoulders and swung her tennis racket by her feet. Both girls stood on a temporary tennis court.

"You get used to it after a while," Haruhi replied. Haruhi bounced a lone tennis ball up and down on the ground. Sakura shuffled in her spot on the other side of the night. Instead of wearing the standard yellow dress, Sakura wore a women's tennis outfit.

Earlier that morning, the twins were very insistent on getting that same outfit onto the lovely rookie of the host club. Haruhi denied the request profusely. In the end, the outfit was offered to Sakura from Haruhi.

The twins were not pleased and they had no problems pointing out that the outfit was fitted specifically. However, the outfit seemed to mold to Sakura's body just fine. It did receive a rather inappropriate comment from Naruto, but that was quickly settled with a smack to the head.

Back to current events, Haruhi served the ball to Sakura. Sakura swung back and hit the ball back to Haruhi. Jealous eyes watched the scene. Some of Haruhi's customers found it completely unfair that the new girl got to play tennis with their Haruhi. It just wasn't fair…

The afternoon went on without a hitch until a runaway soccer ball careened into the tennis court. Sakura and Haruhi paused in their match. They had collected quite a crowd during their game and the random soccer ball had surprised everyone. Naruto stumbled onto the court. He rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly.

"Uh…sorry?" Naruto said with a goofy smile. Some of the customers once caught up in the tennis match giggled into their hands. They found this new host to be very cute. Sakura sighed and walked over to the soccer ball before picking it up. She tossed the ball to her friend that caught it with ease.

"Be more careful…" Sakura said in a scolding tone. Naruto laughed nervously. When Sakura got mad sometimes it was very very scary. Luckily at the moment there were far too many witnesses. Naruto nodded his head towards Sakura and then rushed back to his soccer field. He had gotten some of the other young men at the school to volunteer to play with him.

Haruhi lowered her racket and wiped some sweat from her brow. She walked to the net. Sakura noticed this and met her at the center. Their game of tennis had been going on for a while. Both were getting tired. Sakura swung her racket over her shoulder.

"I think we need to take a break. I think it was a good thing Naruto broke up the game by accident, I'm kind of thirsty," Haruhi said with a smile. A few of the customer's sighed with content. They could live without food for a week with that smile alone.

Sakura agreed to Haruhi's suggestion. The two went back towards the school to find a water fountain. There were water bottles outside, but they were located severely close to Kyoya. Haruhi didn't particularly want to deal with him right now. Sakura took note of Haruhi's gaze on Kyoya.

"I hope he doesn't get Gaara in trouble for picking sand castle building as his sport. I've noticed an odd tension between those two," Sakura said. Haruhi glanced back to look at the red-head molding a tower for one of his castles. The girls surrounding him seemed entertained. Haruhi turned back to Sakura.

"So you've noticed the weird thing between them to? Well, if Kyoya does try to say something I could point out the fact he's playing chess for his sport. I suppose in different spectrums both of those activities are sports…" Haruhi said.

The two made their way into the school. They walked down the hallway until they found the water fountain. The school was deserted for the most part due to the fact everyone was outside enjoying the host club. The water was cool to the taste. Both girls greedily drank up.

Sakura straightened up quickly. She appeared to be listening for something. Haruhi looked curiously at her. Then she heard it as well. They were footsteps. The clacking of shoes was coming towards them. Both sets of eyes traveled around. Soon enough they spotted the source of the noise. Haruhi was surprised.

"Casanova?" Haruhi said unsurely. The shy scary looking young man nodded his head. Sakura eyed the boy. His resemblance to Gaara was definitely there. She could tell just by looking at him. Casanova approached the two slowly.

"Hello Haruhi, I...I wanted to speak with you," the red-headed young man said embarrassedly. A light blush had crept to his cheeks. Sakura noted that the cousin's definitely shared different personalities. Casanova shuffled his feet.

"Oh, what is it?" Haruhi asked curiously. The two had ended on slightly odd terms since their last meeting. He was one of the few who also knew she was a girl. He never revealed her secret. Sakura noticed Casanova gazing at her.

"Um, may I talk to Haruhi privately please?" Casanova asked still looking at Sakura. The pink-haired girl bristled a bit. There was one thing for sure and that was Casanova was almost identical to Gaara in scary facial expressions. She felt threatened almost, even though the guy appeared just to want to talk.

"It's alright Sakura…" Haruhi said reassuringly as she eyed her body guard. Sakura turned to Haruhi. She eyed the girl she was mean to guard and then turned back to Casanova. She made a judgment call and decided it would be fine.

"Alright but I'll be right outside, okay?" the pink-haired Nin informed. Haruhi nodded her head towards Sakura as the other girl walked away. When Sakura was fully out of sight, Haruhi turned back to Casanova.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk with me about?" Haruhi asked. The dark faced boy twisted his foot under him. A blush was slowly forming on his face. He swallowed before speaking.

"Um, Renge said you wanted to talk about our relationship?" Kasanoda said shyly. Haruhi's eyes widened and she stared at Casanova curiously.

"Relationship?"

- ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. - ._. -._.-._.-._.-._. -._.- End Chapter - ._. -._. -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- -._.- - ._. - ._.

_**Sorry for the short chapter, I promise the next one will be much longer. I'm getting ready to head off to college and am attempting to knock out as many chapters for my stories as I can. I hope you enjoyed this chapter regardless of how long it was. Please review and tell me what you think if you have time. **__****_


	13. A Kiss

"Yeah… I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I was wondering how to get you to like me again," Casanova said scratching his head. His face was growing ten times redder then it already had been. Haruhi blinked as she eyed Casanova.

"But I do like you," Haruhi said simply. Casanova seemed to brighten instantly at Haruhi's statement.

"Really!?!?!" He asked with excitement. Haruhi nodded her head.

"I think you're a very good friend. I'm sorry if you felt I didn't like you anymore. It was just awkward knowing that you knew I am what I am," Haruhi said with a small laugh. She sent a smile Casanova's way. However, Casanova seemed to gain a frown.

"Oh…" Casanova said sadly as he put his hands in his pockets. Haruhi was confused. Didn't he want to know that they were still friends? Perhaps there was just something she couldn't see. She wondered what it was.

"Is something wrong?" Haruhi asked. Casanova glanced up at Haruhi again. A pout was still prominent on his face, which looked quite terrifying. It was certain he didn't mean to make it seem that way, but he can't help it. Casanova sighed.

"I think you misunderstand what I said. I…I… like your more than just being friends," Casanova said looking into Haruhi's eyes. The brown-haired girl was taken aback. She wasn't sure how to reply to such an announcement.

"Oh," Haruhi decided to say. It really was one of the few responses she could give. A slight awkwardness began to surround the area a bit. Casanova looked past Haruhi again in embarrassment. He made a coughing noise as he cleared his throat.

"It's alright if you don't feel the same way. Renge gave me some confidence to try to talk to you about it…" Casanova was cut off by Haruhi.

"Renge?" Haruhi asked curiously. Why would she get involved?

"Yeah, I did find it kind of weird with all things considering. That really doesn't matter now. Anyway, even if you don't like me the same way, I just want you to know that I'll always protect you. I promise!" Casanova said making his declaration.

"Haruhi already has someone protecting her-im…" spoke up a smooth voice from down the hall. Haruhi and Casanova turned their heads. Haruhi was caught off her guard. Her cheeks began to tinge red and she wasn't sure why. This situation had gotten just a bit more embarrassing with the latest arrival.

"Gaara?"

"Kasanoda…"

Haruhi stood there uncomfortably as Gaara approached her and his cousin. A strange look was set into his face. He didn't seem happy at all for some reason. Haruhi wondered how long Gaara had been listening to them. She hoped it wasn't for too long.

"Why are you here Gaara?" Kasanoda asked curiously. He had been unaware of his cousin's presence here at Ouran Academy. Gaara stopped directly in front of them. He was quiet for a few moments. Haruhi watched the events unfold before her.

"As I said. Haruhi already has someone to protect him. I am Haruhi's body-guard. He is under my charge. I will forgive you for this grievance since you are my dear cousin," Gaara said sternly. Kasanoda was caught off guard.

"Forgive me?" the other red-head asked stunned.

"Yes" Gaara said simply. Kasanoda eyed his cousin. Something seemed to click inside his head and it all made sense. Haruhi shifted in her spot debating on whether or not to leave. Kasanoda raised a hand to comment.

"You feel the same way I do about Haruhi!" Kasanoda said as he pointed to Gaara. Haruhi almost choked on her own spit. Gaara seemed to stiffen. Kasanoda studied his cousin further as if to affirm his accusation.

"I…don't know what you mean," Gaara said softly.

"Really? Well then… Haruhi," Kasanoda said. The host member looked up with surprise. Why had she just been brought into this? Well, she did suppose it had to do with her. Haruhi turned her head from Gaara and Kasanoda before finally settling on Casanova.

"Yes?" Haruhi said nervously. She noticed that Gaara had turned a bit to hide his face. Was he as embarrassed with the situation as she was? This was almost too much to handle all at once. Kasanoda breathed deeply before saying what he had to say.

"Do you feel the same about Gaara as you feel for me?" Kasanoda asked. Haruhi was like a deer in the headlights. She knew nothing would be gained from lying. Haruhi's face grew hot again. She had realized her true feelings for Gaara the time their lips almost met. At least she noticed they existed…

"No, I don't feel the same," Haruhi answered honestly. Gaara turned his attention back to her. His aquamarine eyes were slightly widened; the black rims enhancing the look on his face. Kasanoda seemed surprised too, but he simply cleared his throat so he could speak again.

"Do you like Gaara, Haruhi?" Kasanoda asked a bit sadly. Haruhi bit her lip. Two sets of eyes were focused on her now. It was a bit unnerving to say the least. Haruhi took a deep breath as she prepared herself. The feelings she had were new and foreign. She was almost scared, but she wasn't sure why.

"I do. I like Gaara," Haruhi said. After her words left her, the host grew quiet with anticipation to see the reactions her answer would bring. Kasanoda seemed a bit disappointed, but he gave Haruhi a reassuring smile anyway. Gaara seemed in shock.

Haruhi and Gaara turned to look at each other. The girl-host gave him a small smile. Gaara unsure of what to do remained quiet. Casanova sighed and scratched his head. It looked like he had lost this match to his cousin, but he supposed it was fair.

"I see. Well, I guess I better leave you two alone then. I hope you two are happy together…" with those parting words, Kasanoda headed down the hall. His words were not condescending or mean, but honest and true. They watched as he left. Haruhi feeling tiny bit of guilt, but not sure she should feel guilty. A moment later her eyes turned to Gaara.

"Should…should we go back outside? The rest of the guys are probably wondering where we are," Haruhi said. When Gaara hadn't reacted to her confession, she wasn't sure how to continue on. Gaara met Haruhi's eyes. There was a moment of silence.

Then it happened. This time it was Gaara to make to the first move. He turned to fully face Haruhi. A slow and gentle hand came to rest on her cheek. Haruhi stared at him, eyes wide. His hand felt so warm on her face. Gaara began to lean in closer.

This time there was nothing to stop it. No one was going to burst in at the last second. Nothing was there to be a distraction. Haruhi didn't seem to mind as their faces grew inches apart. She had never felt like this before. A flutter erupting her stomach, cheeks flushed, heart slowly coming to a halt, and the want for something so badly. Then their lips finally met.

It was soft and gentle. Haruhi vaguely wondered if it could even be considered a kiss. The feeling of Gaara's lips was so light upon hers. For Gaara, it was as if he was testing to see if this was alright. It was as if he was afraid of doing something. Haruhi increased the pressure of their lips together a miniscule amount as if to reassure him that it was just fine. The two were so caught up in their kiss; they didn't notice the other person watching from afar. Nor did they notice the flash of a camera.

/|\/|/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\

The twins rode up the ramp before doing a simple 180 maneuver and landing gracefully back down. The girls cheered happily and clapped. Hikaru and Kaoru hopped off their boards to bow graciously. It was getting to be very late in the afternoon and all the host were rapping up.

Mori swung his kendo sword about. He showed proper procession and poise. His fans were in awe of his fluid motions and show of strength, which was at the moment interrupted by Honey running up to him carrying a bottle of water. Takashi stopped his practice to look at the smaller young man.

"Takashi! I brought you some water…" Honey said happily, pushing the water bottle up to Mori's face.

"Aa," Mori replied before putting away his kendo sword and taking the water bottle from Honey's outstretched hand. It seemed the smaller young man had taken a pause in his jump-roping routine to help his beloved cousin. Mori seemed greedily drink the water before offering the extra to Honey.

"Aw. Thank-you Takashi!" Honey said cutely. He then took the bottle back and gulped the remaining water. The girls on the wayside cooed with delight. It was like an indirect kiss. They took this moment for all it was worth. Today was a great day to be a customer of the host club.

Time had passed since the incident inside; Haruhi was playing tennis with much more vigor than before. Sakura took note of this as she struggled to keep up with the other girl. She'd made sure to ask Haruhi about the change later. Haruhi scored another point and the crowd hollered excitedly.

Naruto punted the ball towards the goal. The other team was inching in on him. With one final kick the ball went soaring. It soared right over the goal. Naruto cursed his luck and stomped his feet. Another student went to grab the ball that had rolled off a couple of feet. The students on Naruto's team tried to cheer him up and said that it had been a close shot.

Gaara appeared enthusiastic about his latest sand sculpture. Well, at least he was as enthusiastic as he could be while still being himself. The sculpture he was working on at the moment, to the delight of his customers, looked to be a fairy. There was something about the sculpture that felt very familiar to the customers, but they couldn't put their fingers on it. Gaara worked hard to get Haruhi's eyes just right…

Kyoya felt something wasn't right. He finished beating yet another student at chess and sent them on their way. His next victim came up to the plate. Kyoya was having trouble focusing on his most recent games. He could feel something was off balance. His eyes surveyed the yard as his opponent took his time deciding on his move. Kyoya eyed Gaara's structure with disdain before turning back to the chess board. What was off?

"Check mate…" Kyoya said coolly.

/|\/|/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\

_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am currently participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), but in a special way. Instead writing one huge novel, I shall be working and writing for all of my fanfictions. This was a relatively short chapter today, but if you were aware of how much else I wrote today, you probably wouldn't feel as poorly. Now review and wait patiently for my next chapter! =D**_


	14. Dinner Anyone?

The host club sports day was officially over. Everyone was packing up and getting ready to set off. Haruhi finished off her match with Sakura. The twins pulled off one last excellent move on their boards. Hunny started winding up his jump rope to leave. Gaara packed sand tightly into the last tower of his sand castle. Mori gave one last swing of his kendo sword. Naruto scored one last goal. Lastly, Kyoya finished his last and final victim in chess. The day was coming to a pleasant close.

"Wooooooooo!" Naruto cheered as he ran up to Sakura and Haruhi. He then went into great detail of all his wondrous victories scored with his team. The two girls listened idly as they began to make their way back into the school to change.

Time passed by and Haruhi stepped out of the dressing room in her normal school attire. The other hosts had wandered in after clean up. The twins were having fun messing with Naruto. The blonde was severely unhappy about this and was in the process of chasing them around the room. Sakura shook her head and slumped into a chair.

Kyoya took this time as the others goofed off to calculate the success of the day's activities. It seemed to have gone quite swimmingly. Kyoya clacked away at his keyboard as he stared at the screen of his lap top. He would need to deduct the cost of the equipment used. There were also a few minor adjustments.

"Hn…" Kyoya uttered as he saved his file. His eyes traveled upward as a certain someone walked into the room. The shadow king's eyes narrowed at the presence of Gaara. He was terribly suspicious of the young ninja since this afternoon. Kyoya closed his lap top rather forcefully as Haruhi gave Gaara a shy wave and a smile.

"Get back here you two!" Naruto howled as he continued to barrel after the twins, whom had taken his orange suit captive. They threatened to burn the thing the second they got the chance. Naruto had not been pleased by this declaration.

"As if!" Kaoru and Hikaru cackled together. Haruhi watched them come towards her. Luckily the twins focus was on the one running behind them. Haruhi stuck out her arm in front of her. Kaoru careened into in first, toppling to the floor. Like the good brother he was, Hikaru followed Kaoru shortly after.

"Stop messing around," Haruhi said sternly. After the event had occurred, Gaara seemed to almost instantly materialize beside the host. He had taken the arm she used to knock the twins over in his hand. Haruhi turned her attention to him.

"Are you alright?" Gaara asked plainly as he continued to hold her arm.

"Um…yeah," Haruhi said. A light blush started to spread across her face. Gaara gentle released her arm and Haruhi laid it at her side. The other occupants of the room watched the scene that just took place with the utmost curiosity. Kyoya was not pleased….

"I want to take a nice bubble bath when I get home," Hunny said sweetly as he snuggled his face into Bun-Bun. He let out a giggle as Mori pat his head. Sakura put in her two cents, saying that a bath sounded like a wondrous idea. By this time Naruto had managed to snatch back his clothes while the twins still lay crumpled on the floor.

"Kaoru! Get your elbow out of my…"

"Shut up Hikaru!"

The twins worked on standing. Both used each other as leverage as they moved upwards. Once the two were upright they went to hover around Haruhi. The girl host took the twins actions lightly as they each laid a chin down on either shoulder.

"How should we punish our toy?" Kaoru asked.

"I have a few ideas," Hikaru purred.

They twins were yanked back by the scruffs of their blue blazers. The two glanced back only to be faced with the look of death. Both instantly felt a shiver spike down their backs. Gaara's face was ten times scarier than a battle-ready Hunny or sleep deprived Kyoya any day. Haruhi tried her best to alleviate the situation.

"It's okay," Haruhi said simply as she placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder. The maroon-haired young man released the twins from his grasp. The two instantly scurried out of harm's way. Sakura had watched what happened wearily. An angry Gaara was never a good thing. Yet, he seemed to have calmed down considerably with Haruhi's reassurance.

"So…I'm hungry," Sakura commented in order to break the tension that had suddenly formed in the room. While she could tell Gaara was still a bit miffed, an even darker aura was emitting from Kyoya in the far off corner of the room. Food always did have the strange ability of soothing bad situations.

"RAMEN!!!!!!" Naruto cheered happily as he cradled his clothes in his arms.

"Ramen?" Hunny asked as he lowered Bun-Bun.

"Aa," Mori said.

"Commoners food," Kaoru commented.

"Yeah, eating together sounds like a great idea. Haruhi can cook for all of us," Hikaru said.

"Hey, when did I agree to coo—"

"WHO SAID YOU TWO COULD COME!?!?!?" Naruto growled, cutting Haruhi off.

Sakura sighed with relief. Her plan seemed to have worked, sort of. Now everyone was chatting away at tonight's dinner plans. The only thing Sakura hadn't counted on was Haruhi being forced into cooking for them all. The auburn-haired girl appeared to have lost fight.

"I agree with Hikaru. After a successful day of hosting, a meal eaten together sounds good. I am most certain our _king_ would whole-heartedly approve of such a venture," Kyoya said in order to finalize the sporadic idea. Haruhi sighed in defeat. She supposed it couldn't be that bad. What's the worst that could happen?

"Well if I'm cooking, I need to go get supplies at the grocery store first," Haruhi said as she hitched her school bag high on her shoulder. Naruto was absolutely ecstatic about the news. He would finally get his hands on some ramen. Not only that, but it would be home-made ramen!!!!!!! Today was the day of days for him.

It looked like it was time to leave the school. Everyone gathered their things in order to journey forth. The group hovered all around Haruhi like buzzing bees. She was making the food, but she thought the amount of attention she was receiving was a bit much. Her attention was dragged away from the people around her as Gaara took her hand.

It was a small simple gesture, but it let a tiny smile slip across her face. Gaara glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Their minds went to the kiss that happened earlier that afternoon. It caused red to seep to each of their faces. The only two they took notice of this were Hunny and Kyoya.

Hunny thought it was cute. He wasn't sure what made Haruhi and Gaara blush, but it made him happy to know that Haruhi was also happy with whatever it was. Sadly, Kyoya did not share Hinny's sentiments. His eyes burned into the back of Gaara's head. If he were lucky, the ninja would melt on the spot.

The group reached the commoner's supermarket. Other customers in the store eyed the group as they walked in. Women young and old swooned at all the very handsome young men that had entered their world. Where did such fine men come from? Who was that pink-haired girl that was so lucky to be with them all?

"They're staring at me…" Sakura commented. She felt incredibly uncomfortable with so many eyes peering in their direction. Haruhi just shook it off. She was used to this sort of thing. It came with being in the host club. Her body guards were just not adjusted to it yet.

"They're staring at all of us," Naruto whispered back to his team mate.

Gaara's grip on Haruhi's hand tightened. She squeezed his hand back to tell him that everything was alright. The group made their way through the store. The twins spun around with a grocery cart. Haruhi collected everything that she believed she needed. She had tried to make a list in her head earlier.

The group finished shopping and headed to the checkout. Haruhi winced as she handed over most of her food money for the week. She guessed that it would be leftovers for the next few days. She didn't tell anyone of her woes, but her bodyguards felt it. Haruhi finished paying and the group set off for her house.

"We forgot. Haruhi's house is so small. Will we all fit?" the twins commented together.

"My house isn't that small…" Haruhi said defensively. The twins smirked and Haruhi sighed. The host began to dig around her school bag for her key. The others held the groceries she had bought. Finally she found her key. Haruhi placed it into the lock and turned, "It's open,"

The host club had been in Haruhi's house once before. However, her bodyguards had not. The three eyed the homely apartment. Everyone began to remove their shoes and placed them by the front door. Haruhi gestured for the ones carrying grocery bags to follow her into the kitchen.

Once everything was set up, Haruhi set out to make dinner. Everyone else sat as comfortably as they could around Haruhi's tiny dining room table. It was a rather tight squeeze to fit everyone in. Kyoya glared over at Gaara from across the table. The red-head returned the look. Sakura popped herself out of the tight circle and headed to the kitchen.

Haruhi had started to boil water and was currently chopping away at spices that she would be adding to the noodles. Sakura approached Haruhi from behind. Haruhi stopped chopping and turned to look at Sakura.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I kind of got you into this mess," Sakura offered.

"You can put the broth cube into the water. It should be to a boil by now," Haruhi said smiling. Sakura nodded her head and did as Haruhi asked. The cube plopped into the water and began to turn the clear liquid a more golden color.

The two women in the apartment worked away in the kitchen. The noodles were added and heated. Haruhi dumped the spices and stirred. While they waited for the spices to settle, Sakura set up bowls and chop sticks around the table. Haruhi hoped they had enough for everyone.

The egg timer beeped and Haruhi shut off the stove. Sakura set a cloth on the table. Haruhi slipped her hands into some pink oven mitts. She grabbed the pot of ramen and headed to the table. She set it gently down. Haruhi removed her mitts and headed back to the kitchen. She returned with a ladle for the ramen.

Haruhi took the time to ladle ramen into everyone bowls. When Haruhi was done she set the ladle in the bowl and squeezed in between Gaara and Naruto to sit. Both ninja made as much room as they could for her. Everyone picked up their chop sticks.

"Itadakimasu," left everyone's lips and they dug in. For Naruto it was like heaven. Ramen had never tasted so good. Everyone appeared to be enjoying it. Sakura slurped a noodle too fast and it smacked her face. The twins laughed and pointed at her.

Hunny commented that Haruhi's commoner food was very tasty. Everyone in the host club agreed that even if it was commoner's food that it was the best they'd ever had. Haruhi took the compliments kindly. One by one they finished off their ramen.

A noise from the door attracted everyone's attention. The doorknob clicked as it turned. The ninja in the room tensed and prepared for anything. The rest watched on with mild interest. The door swung open. Naruto nearly fell backwards from surprise. Although, he was not as surprised as the person standing by the door.

What appeared to be a woman with long wavy reddish-brown hair stood at the door. Her lips were painted prettily as her mouth hung open. Her mascara-ed eyes were also opened wide. A hand rested on non-existent hips as she stared at them.

"Who's the lady?" Naruto asked.

"Hi dad…" Haruhi said from her spot.

* * *

_**WOW! I'm proud that I finished writing all of that in one sitting. It makes me happy. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have almost reached 55,000 words! Woooo! Obviously I didn't reach it with just this story alone. Lol. Well, review if you can my sweets!**_


	15. First Sparks of Romance and Trouble

Haruhi was having some difficulty paying attention in class today. At this point and time, she was surrounded on all sides. The twins sat on Haruhi's left and her right side; Gaara sat behind her, and Naruto sat in front of her. Sakura, sadly, had been pushed off to the wayside. It wasn't the host or the bodyguards doing, but apparently was due to the girls of the class.

It wasn't a mean or cruel act, but one of envy. As soon as everyone had sat in this formation, the girls of the class surrounded them before Sakura could even sit down beside Naruto. The girls of the class appeared to believe that Sakura must be getting some sort of special treatment from the host club if she was always around them. This left Haruhi stuck….

The teacher was droning on and on about this and that, but for the life of her, Haruhi couldn't focus. She was slightly irritated by the twins. She knew that they were doing it on purpose. Every once in a while a hand would tap her shoulder, but by the time she looked to see who the hand belonged to, it was gone. Due to the twin's actions, Gaara had been staring intently at her back for the last hour. Surprisingly, the only one being the least distracting was Naruto, whom was rubbing his back where Haruhi's father had smacked him last night.

This thought brought her back to yesterday…

* * *

_"Dad?" Sakura asked as she eyed Haruhi's father._

_"That's a man?" Naruto shouted aghast._

_As soon as those words escaped Naruto's lips, Ranka swooped down upon him. Painted nails pinched at cheeks, as Ranka hovered over Naruto pulling at the folds of skin mercilessly. The others continued to watch on in morbid fascination. Haruhi, at this time, was being squished by her father's elbow as he seemingly tortured Naruto._

_"Oh… Haruhi! You didn't mention that you'd be bringing new __**friends**__ over," Ranka said in a sickeningly sweet voice. The only other time he had been like this was when he had caught Tamaki atop his Haruhi. Naruto whined in pain._

_"Uh… Dad?" Haruhi tried._

_"It hurts…" Naruto said gurgling due to the stretch of his cheeks._

_"Dad, maybe you should let go," Haruhi suggested with a sterner tone. _

_"But your new friends are so…cute!" Ranka said smacking Naruto's back rather hard. The blond-haired ninja squawked as he writhed in pain from the sting in his back. Sakura covered her mouth with her hand, as she looked on with sympathy for her teammate._

_"Fujioka-san, I apologize for no informing you sooner of the new arrivals to the host club," Kyoya said politely. Ranka brightened and flittered across the room where the Ootori sat. Everyone continued to watch the scene in mild wonderment. Truthfully, they just wanted to finish eating._

_"Oh it's completely alright…" Ranka said with a warm smile._

_"I assure I will inform you of __**everything **__to the smallest detail about them soon," Kyoya said with an almost dangerous tone, his eyes moving to focus on Gaara intently. Haruhi's father didn't seem to notice the strange interaction and said he was going to the kitchen to grab a bowl for him, so that he could some of Haruhi's cooking as well._

* * *

Haruhi was still bothered by what Kyoya had said. The way he looked at Gaara as he said it also unnerved her. She wasn't sure what those words or that look meant; all she knew was that it made her feel very uncomfortable. It was just one of the reasons she was distracted today. The other was…

Haruhi turned her head back. Her soft brown eyes fell on Gaara. The maroon-haired ninja straightened up as her eyes fell on him. A blush found its way to Haruhi's cheek. She was thinking about the kiss they shared together yesterday. Gaara must have shared her thoughts in that moment, because a hint of red appeared on his cheeks as well. This feeling was completely new.

Sakura had been bored out of her mind the whole class period. When her eyes wandered over to Haruhi, she was shocked by what she saw. It was slightly surprising that Haruhi was blushing, but… to see Gaara blushing was an unbelievable phenomenon. No-one else appeared to notice though. Most of the students were focused on the teacher. Even the twins had decided it was a nice time to tune in, since they had been neglecting their studies to pester Haruhi most of the class. Sakura sighed. And of course, Naruto was clueless as always. But what a scoop! Sakura smiled to herself.

"Is there something you need?" Gaara asked softly.

"No I just…"

"Fujioka," said a deep stern voice from the front of the class. Haruhi tensed and her head swung around. All eyes in the class had turned to her. Haruhi cursed her poor luck inside her mind. The teacher didn't look pleased at all, "If you feel the urge to disrupt the class by talking then I must ask you to go out into the hall."

"I understand." Haruhi said in a low voice. Haruhi bowed her head as she stood up and grabbed her things, "I am sorry for my misbehavior."

With all that done and said Haruhi made her way to the classroom door. Kaoru and Hikaru frowned; their eyes snapped over to Gaara. This was his entire fault. The accused ninja merely blinked his eyes. Some of Haruhi's fans in the class gasped in disbelief. Their poor beloved host sent out to the hall like some delinquent! Naruto scratched his head. This was bad… Sakura was thinking about the whole situation carefully in her head. How could they protect Haruhi if she was out in the hall all by herself?

Suddenly Gaara stood up in the middle of class without warning. The teacher watched as one of his newer students simply walked out of the classroom. This put the class in an uproar. Gaara's fans thought it was sooo cool. Bad boys for the win! No-one tried to stop his departure.

Haruhi was put off as a new figure joined her in the hall. Gaara shut the door closed and then turned to face Haruhi. Green meshed with brown as they stared into each other's eyes. Gaara stepped closer to Haruhi and took her hand.

"What are you doing out here? You'll get in trouble…" Haruhi said softly.

"Isn't it obvious? As your bodyguard, it's my job to protect you," Gaara replied lightly squeezing Haruhi's hand, "And I'm sorry for getting you in trouble"

"It wasn't your fault. Don't worry about it," Haruhi said with a small smile. Gaara was surprised by Haruhi's forgiveness. He wasn't used to such wonderful new things. A tiny shy smile came to Gaara's face. Was this what it really was like.... to be cared for by someone?

The two simply stood there in silence. Their backs leaned against the wall as they waited for the class to part for lunch. Haruhi had never been asked to leave the class for misbehavior before, but she supposed it wasn't too bad. Her eyes moved to Gaara again. He matched her gaze once more. Haruhi felt heat rush to her face.

These feelings were odd and strange. She'd never liked someone before now. Was this how you were supposed to act? Where you meant to blush at every wishful thought? Was the memory of your _first_ _true_ kiss meant to continuously run through your mind? Everything was so new. She wondered if she'd ever get used to it.

As soon as the bell rang, the two broke hands. Haruhi wasn't sure how people would react to two _guys_ holding hands. Although, it seemed to work for the twins. Speaking of which… Kaoru and Hikaru were the first to step out of the classroom. They eyed Haruhi and Gaara.

"Coming to lunch?" they asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Haruhi answered back. The twins seemed satisfied with this and began to walk towards the cafeteria.

"We'll see you there then," Hikaru said glancing back at Haruhi before he and Kaoru turned the corner.

Other students filtered out of the classroom. Finally Sakura and Naruto emerged through the door. Sakura had appeared worried, but visually relaxed as she spotted Haruhi. Everything looked to be A-okay. Naruto yawned into his hand and then made smacking noises with his mouth.

"Hey Haruhi, the teacher said you'd be able to come back into the classroom after lunch," Naruto said.

"That's good news," Haruhi said before continuing, "Since lunch has started I guess we should start heading to the cafeteria."

"Actually…" Gaara interrupted. Everyone's attention turned to him. Gaara's face was blank, but his feet were fidget now and then from underneath him, "I was hoping we'd share lunch together under the trees where we first met, Haruhi."

A dark blush came to Haruhi's face. Sakura had a bubbly feeling rise up in her stomach at the sight. Since that moment the two had blushed in class, she was aware _something_ was going on. Gaara was actually being romantic! Sakura eyed the two dreamily. If only the same thing could happen between her and Sasuke. A sad smile came to her face. She wondered where the Uchiha was right now…

"Isn't it weird for one guy to ask another guy something like that?" Naruto said offhand. _God damn it_ inner-Sakura thought. That idiot was going to mess everything up. Sakura forgot that Naruto didn't know Haruhi was a girl yet. She couldn't let the blond ruin their moment though.

"Oh Naruto, don't be so…_stupid_. I think it's completely normal. Besides I wanted to go out for lunch anyway. We can let them have their fun, while you come with me," Sakura said as she squeezed onto Naruto's arm hard.

"Sakura what are you talking about?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"Come on!" Sakura said in somewhat of a growl as she practically dragged the confused boy down the hall after her. Gaara and Haruhi watched them go curiously. Then Haruhi turned her attention back to Gaara and his question.

"Um…I would love to have lunch with you," Haruhi said shyly.

"Good…"

* * *

Kyoya adjusted his glasses as he stepped out of his classroom. He was taking his time as he leisurely walked to lunch. Facts and figures danced in his head as he thought about the host club's latest activities. Tamaki really wanted to have a ball after his return as somewhat of a celebration of sorts. Kyoya's train of thought was broken as he felt someone clutch onto him.

"Oh my dear prince! My plan was a complete success!" a light voice said ecstatically.

"Hello Renge…" Kyoya responded calmly, "May I ask what plan that might be?"

Renge smiled brightly and unlatched herself from Kyoya. She began to dig around in her bag frantically in search of something. Kyoya continued to make his way to lunch as Renge did this. She seemed far too excited. Then again, she always acted like this during her schemes.

"It went perfect! I knew it would. I planned it all out like one of my dating Sims. I created the confrontation by getting Bossa-nova involved. Since Gaara and him are cousins and all. You already know that I don't mind if Haruhi is in a homo-sexual relationship. Plus it was too good to pass up…" Renge continued to rant.

While Kyoya had only be half-heartedly been paying attention before, at the mention of Gaara he was all ears. He stopped moving completely when Renge gave a victorious yell as she pulled what looked like a photograph out of her bag. A goofy smile was on her face as she stared at it.

"What is that?" Kyoya questioned.

"Take a look yourself!" Renge cooed as she handed the picture over to Kyoya. The host gently took the picture from the girl's hand. Kyoya's heart almost stopped as he finally got a good look at the picture. It couldn't be…

* * *

_**I hope you enjoyed that chapter! It was very very very fluffy, lol. But hey! Gaara and Haruhi need some good lovin' at some point, right? Well my beloved readers…PLEASE REVIEW! =D**_


	16. The Picture

The sun shone brightly today. It was not too hot thanks to a slight breeze that shook the leaves in the trees. Once they were out of sight of the school and fairly far into the garden, Gaara and Haruhi held each other's hands. Gaara's eyes focused contently at their intertwined fingers. Haruhi noticed his gaze.

"What is it?" she asked curiously. The maroon-haired ninja's attention turned back to the girl whose hand he was holding. A shy slightly awkward smile was spread out on his face. He hoped his smile wasn't frightening to her. He wasn't used to doing such things as smiling…

"This is just so new," Gaara answered truthfully.

He didn't have to elaborate much further. Haruhi simply inferred what he meant, mostly because she felt something similar. All of this was so very new; these feelings. It was odd how a simple innocent touch of skin caused a flurry of butterflies to dance in her stomach. That moment when your eyes meet each others' and cheeks are painted pink. The difference when that special someone says something to you that holds more meaning than if anyone else had said it. She wondered if this how 'normal' girls' felt when they liked someone.

"I know what you mean," Haruhi said in return.

Gaara's awkward smile didn't seem so off anymore. In fact, it was quite handsome. Soon enough the two found a spot thought suitable for eating lunch. Haruhi brought out her bento that held yesterday's leftovers. Gaara took out his own lunch from a pouch at his side.

Haruhi prepped her chop sticks and was about to dive in when she took note at what Gaara was going to eat. Her brown eyes followed his movements closely as he placed a small cloth in his lap and then laid the 'food' on top of it. The young man worked on getting out a bottle of water from his pouch when he noticed Haruhi's stare.

"Is something wrong?" Gaara asked smoothly. However, on the inside he was growing weary. Was Haruhi having second thoughts? Was she going to leave him just like everyone else? Did she find him a monster? Panic began to build in his stomach as his face remained calm.

"What are you eating?" Haruhi questioned as politely as she could.

The panic that had been building inside dissipated in mere seconds. Gaara blinked. That was all? A simple question about what he was eating. Gaara scolded himself for being so nervous. He wished he didn't have to be, but the history of his past still haunted at times. It always seemed to effect how he handled situations he was put into. He wondered how long it would take to get used to these new experiences, this honest experiences. He could only see truth in Haruhi's eyes.

"They are smoke-dried lizards. They are a traditional dish from where I am from. The way the lizards are prepared allows them to last longer…Would you like to try something?" Gaara asked.

Haruhi eyed the lizards questioningly. She had never tried anything like it before. In truth, she hadn't really tried that many exotic dishes anyway. Would Gaara be offended if she said no? If she did try it and hated it, would that cause problems in their slowly growing relationship? She wasn't used to all this. She never had to think so hard about something that wasn't academically related. Haruhi was nervous…

"Uh…yeah…I...I guess," Haruhi said unsurely. Gaara slowly picked up one of the lizards and handed it over to Haruhi. The creature was skewered onto the stick and was a nice black color from being smoked. Haruhi slowly took the lizard from Gaara and eyed it one more time. She brought it up to her mouth and paused before going in.

"How do you like it?" Gaara questioned.

Haruhi was busily chewing away. The first bite was really just to cause a break in the lizard's skin. It was in a way like eating fried chicken almost. You chomp down and then really just bite around the bone. Haruhi swallowed as Gaara continued to watch her. Haruhi looked up at Gaara.

"It's…actually pretty good," Haruhi said with a smile. Her eyes shone true as she spoke these words. She really did enjoy it. Gaara was happy to hear this. If Haruhi ever came to visit Suna, he would have the dish especially made for her. Well, if she came.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Gaara said gaining a tiny smile of his own. After the small exchange between the two, they began to eat lunch again. Haruhi took tiny nibbles of the lizard offered to her by Gaara as well as simultaneously eating her bento.

Lunch was pleasant.

* * *

Kyoya continued to stare at the photo that had been handed to him. Slowly cracks formed in his resolve. A bubbling volcano of rage was building up inside wishing to break to the surface. Renge continued to on with her little spiel about what a wonderfully wondrous thing she had done, while being completely oblivious to the trouble she had just caused. Then came the eruption.

"Go away…" Kyoya said dangerously low.

"Excuse me?" Renge said blinking. Fierce angered eyes turned on her. Renge stepped back as fast as she could. This wasn't her beloved dating sim prince. Who was this person attached to such an angry face? Kyoya's anger was so potent he visibly shook.

"GO AWAY!" he shouted.

The message was brought across most definitely this time. Renge was gone without a word. She sprinted down the hall before disappearing behind the corner, leaving the picture that started all this still in Kyoya's hands.

Kyoya crumpled the photo in his grasp. He tried to bring back some of his calm as he marched into an empty classroom. He couldn't afford to be seen by anyone at this time. It could be bad for business if his little blow up got out. He knew Renge would stay quiet, but he had to make sure. This is empty classroom was his for now.

Kyoya kicked a desk with his foot. The desk toppled over and clacked onto the tile floor. All of Kyoya's normal refinement was slowly drifting away. He didn't care at the moment. Kyoya slowly began to unfold the picture in his hand. His eyes took in the picture again. The anger inside did not diminish. It was back with full force.

"How could this happen?" came a growl from the young man.

It wasn't fair.

It just wasn't fair.

Haruhi looked so innocent in the picture. Her eyes fluttered close. The slight lift in her feet to reach her goal. The light blush that spread across her cheeks. She was beautiful. Then came the mar in the picture. Or at least a fairly major flaw in the picture as far as Kyoya could see. Gaara…

The two were sharing a kiss, an innocent almost experimental kiss. Kyoya wasn't sure he could handle this new information brought up before him. It was almost too much. He found what was happening to be so unfair to him.

He always had to work harder than his brother's and everyone else. He deserved something for his efforts. He wanted someone to hold his hand during his trials. His sister was there sometimes for him, but he wanted something more. He wanted a different kind of relationship. He thought he had finally found someone.

Haruhi was definitely unique from other girls. She was also very intelligent and she often spoke her mind about things. His feelings for her were not immediate, but gradually he realized her worth. He realized what she truly meant to him. These feelings were complicated.

While Tamaki was obvious in his approaches to Haruhi, he doesn't realize that he has romantic feelings for the girl. He's stuck on fatherly love. Kyoya felt safe knowing that about Tamaki and felt safe in the fact that Haruhi didn't seem to entirely return those feelings. Kyoya also knew that if the time ever came around where he had told Haruhi his true feelings that Tamaki would be alright with it, considering their friendship.

Things were different now…

This person comes out of nowhere and takes everything away from him. Gaara took away his hope of ever gaining someone like Haruhi. The worst part was that she seemed to reciprocate these feelings toward that bastard.

Kyoya's senses started to come back to him. He realized that hot tears were slowly dripping down his face. He felt pathetic. His breathing was rough and hard. Kyoya fell to his knees and put his face in his hands. He couldn't stand how things had gotten out of control. This one kiss captured on film had shattered his world.

Or had it?

Kyoya lifted his face out of his hands. A dark smile crept to his face. He had a plan. He always had a plan. Everything could be easily fixed. Kyoya slowly got up from the ground. He brushed off his pants and took of his glasses to wipe away the tears. Glasses put firmly back in place he went forward to right the desk that had fallen over. He was gaining control again.

Once the desk was righted, Kyoya set out to leave the empty classroom. He had much to do so he might as well get started now. There would be no time for lunch, but it didn't matter too much. Time was of the essence. A dark laugh left Kyoya as he continued down the hall.

He was going to get back what was his by any means necessary…

Haruhi munched away as she was finishing up her lunch. Gaara sat beside her, staring up at the sky. It had been a lovely lunch and the two had enjoyed each other's company. During their lunch Gaara suggested that they meet up here in the garden again after school and when Haruhi was through with hosting. Haruhi said that it was a good idea.

"Done?" Gaara asked.

"Just about," Haruhi replied.

Suddenly both of them sneezed at the same time. Haruhi brush a hand. Gaara wrinkled his nose after the occurrence. Then they looked at each other before sneezing again. Both attempted to not sneeze on the other. Haruhi covered her mouth with her hands and Gaara sneezed into his sleeve.

"That was odd," Gaara commented.

"Maybe there's a high amount of pollen today?" Haruhi suggested.

_**That's all you're going to get for a while. I'm getting close to finals and the end of the school year here at college. You know what that means, a ton of essays and studying for exams! In other news, I'll be two decades old next Friday. OMG! Heh. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to REVIEW. =D**_


	17. A Challenge

Green eyes sparkled as they glanced out the window on the unsuspecting pair below. There was a perfect view of the garden from this room on the second floor. Sakura smiled as she continued to watch Gaara and Haruhi. Things looked like they were going well. Their time together at lunch had apparently gone very well; because after hosting today the two were off in the garden again.

"They're so cute…" Sakura said with a happy sigh.

"What are you gawking at?" Naruto asked popping out of nowhere. Sakura swung around quickly before pushing Naruto to the floor. The young ninja went down hard and a groan escaped him, "What was that for?"

"I'm sorry, but you startled me…" Sakura bit out as she peered over Naruto. Laughter followed after what Sakura had said. Both Ninja turned their attention to the doorway. The blonde on the floor jumped to his feet as he realized who was there.

"YOU TWO!" Naruto yelled as he pointed accusingly towards the doorway. Kaoru and Hikaru simply smirked as the slinked their way into the room. Sakura shifted from her spot to the window as she walked towards the twins. She nervously played with a strand of her pink hair.

"Um…what are you two still doing here?" Sakura asked curiously.

"YEAH! Aren't you supposed to be gone by now?" Naruto said irritably. Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes. Naruto was still a bit sore about the twins teasing him…constantly. They weren't too horrible about it considering the things that Naruto went through at home, but they were merciless in their teasing none the less.

"Why are we here you ask?" Kaoru started.

"Why, we're here to play with our new toy," Hikaru finished. Both twins gained a playful smirk. However, the comment seemed to bring silence to the room.

Sakura could feel anger bubbling inside her. How dare she be referred to as toy. Did those two think that just because she was a girl that she was weak or something? That was unacceptable. Oooh.. She would show them.

A toy? Naruto pondered over what the twins had said. He didn't see any kind of toys up here in this music room. What were those two bozos talking about? As the blond thought over this phenomenon, he watched as Sakura finally snapped.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Sakura yelled before pointing at the twins accusingly. The two handsome young men didn't seem to react besides slinking closer to the pink-haired girl. Naruto continued to watch from the sidelines. He wasn't entirely sure he liked what he was seeing.

"Whoa…calm down princess," the twins purred as they inched even closer to Sakura.

"There's no need to be upset…" Kaoru said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I mean, isn't it every girl's fantasy to be with twins?" Hikaru asked as he proceeded to wrap his own arm around Sakura as well.

By this point and time, the pink-haired Nin was flustered for _two_ very different reasons. She had never received this kind of attention before. Kaoru and Hikaru continued to stay glued to Sakura's side. The girl was beginning to become less angry and much more interested in these turn of events.

"All we want to do is play with our toy," the twins said softly into Sakura's ears. The girl's face at this point started to tinge the same shade of her hair before turning a darker crimson. A loud sputtered cry broke the moment.

"What do you two think you're doing to Sakura?" Naruto shouted, snapping out of whatever daze he had been in. The twin's grins grew as they leaned their heads onto Sakura's shoulders as if to further taunt the blonde.

"What are you going to do about it?" Kaoru asked as the arm around Sakura's shoulders traveled to her waist. The pink-haired girl could have died right then and there. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, all she knew was that she was starting to like it.

"If you don't let go of Sakura now, I swear I'll pummel you!" Naruto growled. This time it was Hikaru that came to the plate. He slid his arm around Sakura's other side. A gasp escaped through Sakura's lips. This was almost too much.

"So it's a fight you want for her?" Hikaru said with a smirk.

"That's right!" Naruto shouted back.

"Alright. We accept your challenge," Kaoru said. There was a brief pause after this statement as confusion started to settle in for the other occupants in the room.

"Um…You're actually going to fight me?" Naruto said as he wondered whether or not these two were aware just how strong he actually was. The blond was fairly certain he could destroy these two easily. The twins released Sakura and began to head towards Naruto's direction.

"Well, you technically won't be fighting us…"

"…You'll be fighting Hunny-sempai," the twins said one after the other.

'You're not going to fight me yourselves?" Naruto asked quirking a brow. During this exchange between the twin's and Naruto, Sakura was slowly coming back to reality. She was still not completely present, but she was enough in the situation to still be entirely confused.

"Is that a problem?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked simultaneously. Naruto blinked at the response. Sakura did her best to focus on what was going, while also attempting not to swoon. It would be no good lying sprawled out on the floor in shock.

"I guess not…It's kind of weird, but I know for a fact that little guy your putting me against won't be a challenge at all," Naruto said. The twins high-fived each other and headed towards the door. They slinked happily to the opening like very pleased cats.

"Know that you accepted the challenge…"

"…The fight will be tomorrow after hosting…"

"…If we win, we get Sakura all to ourselves…"

"Good-bye for now!" the twins said together before sauntering out of the third music hall.

"That was strange," Sakura commented as she held a hand over her rapidly beating heart.

"Yeah…"

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_**I know what you guys are thinking… Sakura and the twins ? ! ? What now? Don't worry. It shall all make sense soon enough. Sorry about the short chapter, but I wanted to put this part specifically before the next chapter considering the two parts have completely different moods. I thought they would sound weird together. XD**_

_**AWESOME FACT OF THE DAY! I went to a rave at a con… and the voice actor for Kaoru's English voice totally was the DJ. He gave my friend's and I a mix CD. Oh yeah. I know people. Lol. I love you guys! Review if you can. :D**_


	18. Questions

The breeze outside was pleasant. Haruhi watched the clouds in the sky through tiny spaces in-between the leaves of the tree, shading her from above. Gaara and she had been speaking about all kinds of things during their excursion outside in the garden. The topics of discussion were always different. It depended on what was on each individuals mind.

"What is it like where you live?" Haruhi asked curiously as she turned her attention back to Gaara. The maroon-haired young man moved his gaze of the second-story window (where Sakura had been looking at them, before disappearing from view suddenly) and over to Haruhi. Gaara took his time to think of what exactly he was going to say. Haruhi waited patiently beside him for an answer. Gaara picked up a leaf gingerly in his hands and eyed it.

"Suna is very different from this place. The sun seems to eternally be in the sky, creating a world of heat for us. The air is also extremely dry. Most foreigners that travel there without insider knowledge tend to find it a horrible desert place. However where the city actually resides, there is a literal Oasis. The Oasis is one of the reasons the town was able to be built in such a harsh environment. The seasonal rains that eventually come replenish the water supply. We also have underground water reserves," Gaara said factually. Haruhi listened intently, but found she wanted to know more.

"That sounds interesting. However, you didn't really talk about the people there very much. How are they?" Haruhi asked. Gaara was thrown off a bit by the question, but caught himself. He lowered the leaf in his hand and breathed in deeply.

"There people like from any town I guess. You have the normal citizens just living their lives. Then you have the…I suppose you'd call it _military_ people. Or at least people that work to protect our city. Then you have the people that run the shops and things. Overall it's somewhat like any other normal town," Gaara explained.

"Maybe someday I can come visit Suna. You can show me all the right places to go," Haruhi commented with a smile.

"You'd really want to go?" Gaara asked softly.

"Of course. I think it'd be an interesting experience. I'd have to go before I attend law school, but I think as long as you take me it'll be possible," Haruhi replied. Gaara found that he had somewhat mixed feelings about the answer Haruhi gave.

He was happy that Haruhi wanted to Suna, especially with him in mind. However, other thoughts muddled about in his mind as well. He realized he'd eventually have to tell Haruhi the truth about who he really was. He was the Kazekage of Suna that fact would not be an easy one to hide if she did end up coming. Plus, he'd have to tell the _whole_ story of himself.

Tightness built up in Gaara's chest. He wasn't ready to lose this wonderful treasure he had just gained. He couldn't lose it. He wanted this thing far too much. He'd be forever broken if it were gone. He didn't want to lose this feeling he had with Haruhi…

"The reason you wish to get into law. It's because of your mother isn't it?" Gaara said, quickly changing the subject. He hoped Haruhi wouldn't take too much notice of the sudden switch. It appeared she hadn't as she replied right away.

"Uh…yes. My mother is one of the reasons I want to be a lawyer, but how did you know that?" Haruhi asked curiously.

Gaara threw the leaf in his hand to the wayside. His chest seized again. He had successfully changed the subject, but he realized now that he simply led the conversation into another difficult direction. Gaara took a deep breath.

"I overheard some things about it through the students. For the most part it's your customers that told me. They only know about what you've told them. They talk about how you're striving to be a lawyer, because your mother was one. I came to my own conclusions about other information told to me about you, long before it was given to me. I heard about how your mother…." Gaara trailed off as he spoke.

"She died" Haruhi said softly, "Yes. That was about ten years ago. I still think about her a lot,"

There was a moment of quiet after those words were spoken. Gaara's aquamarine eyes shifted towards Haruhi's light brown ones. Haruhi perked up with Gaara's full attention on her. She noticed that he seemed…different somehow in this moment. There was seriousness in those eyes staring back at her.

"I won't say I know exactly how you feel, because saying that would be unrealistic. However, I think I might know a little bit about how you feel right now. You see…My mother had died giving birth to me. So while I didn't get those years with my mother like you did with yours, I'd say the loss of someone that you lo…care about is just as strong," Gaara said before bringing his gaze to the ground.

Haruhi could tell this was hard for the young man. It seemed like the first time he had been truly this honest with someone. Gently, Haruhi took Gaara's hand in her own. The touch was sudden, yet familiar. Hadn't this same simple touch of hands caused these original feelings stirring inside Gaara? The young ninja squeezed Haruhi's hand lightly. The tiny expanse of skin on her palm felt so warm. It was calming. Haruhi brushed her thumb over the top of Gaara's hand soothingly. A sad smile was on her face. The overall interaction felt peaceful.

"Gaara?"

"Hmmm, yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it you want to know?"

"It's something that I've been curious about, but never had the courage to before now…" Haruhi said moving closer to Gaara. For a moment, Haruhi seemed unsure about she was going to do next. Then she appeared to gather herself and continued. Haruhi slowly brought her other free hand towards Gaara's face before gently placing her fingers on his scar, "Why…why do you have this?"

Gaara was put into shock. He had never been touched so intimately this way. The area of his etched scar held such sensitive skin; and to have the feeling of fingers lightly pressed against that skin shot tingles up his spine. The young man shifted his head away from Haruhi's hand. Some of Gaara's rust-colored hair came to cover the scar in question.

"That question was very sudden," Gaara said shakily as he tried to control his heartbeat.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't realize that asking that question would—"

"It's alright. As I said, it was just sudden… the reason for this scar is that it's meant as a reminder. A reminder of something I made for myself long ago," Gaara said seriously, seemingly gaining back his composure. His eyes looked to have darkened at the thought of this specific memory of that reminder.

"What is it meant to remind you of?" Haruhi asked as she eyed Gaara. The young ninja's eyes focused again and he was brought back to reality. Gaara turned to meet Haruhi's gaze. He felt his throat constrict, but he spoke anyway.

"The scar was meant to remind me that…love is just a word…" Gaara replied solemnly. The pairs' hands that had been linked during the entire conversation finally broke apart. Haruhi shifted in her spot until her face was inches away from Gaara's face as she looked at him critically.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Haruhi said as she seemed to search Gaara's eyes for the answer to her question. Gaara felt guilt build up inside him, but at the same time the haunting memories of his past came along with that feeling. Could he change? He said he'd give this whole thing a chance for Haruhi. Gaara breathed in deeply.

"I taught myself to believe it. I have since I was a child. It helped me to not be disappointed when…" Gaara trailed off.

"What happened in your childhood that made you think this way" Haruhi asked as she continued to study Gaara. The young man could feel his insides turn within. The butterflies in his stomach had turned into hornets. Gaara wasn't sure what would happen next.

"Haruhi, there's so much to tell you. I just don't know if I can right at this moment. When the time does come, I know I'll tell you everything. I just…" Gaara was stopped by a finger placed on his lips. Haruhi seemed so serious. Suddenly her hand moved from his lips to his cheek.

Eyes fluttered closed as the two prepared for their second kiss. This one seemed so much softer than the last, but then it changed. Mouths melded together even more. The extra ounce of pressure created brand new feelings. Some idea of hope filled Gaara again. The kiss broke.

"It's alright if you can't explain it all right now. I'll wait patiently for an answer, or a change of heart," Haruhi said smiling. She moved her hand away from Gaara's face as his eyes re-opened. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Gaara felt warm.

"Haruhi…"

"HEY YOU TWO! Do you have any idea what time it is?" a yell came out of nowhere. Gaara moved quickly; and before anyone had the chance to blink was already on the intruder. Naruto struggled to breathe. Sakura ended up coming to the rescue.

"Woah woah woah. Gaara let him go. We came to get you guys because it was getting late!" Sakura said pleadingly. Naruto was gently lowered to the ground. He stumbled for a minute as he attempted to get an appropriate amount of oxygen in his lungs. Haruhi took this time to look at her watch.

"Oh. It is late. I still have homework too," Haruhi said as she watched the time. Haruhi slowly stood up from the ground and brushed off her pants. She was ready to go. Naruto glared at Gaara, but simply adjusted his head-band.

"You could have killed me…" Naruto grumbled.

"There's no question about that," Gaara said bluntly.

"…."

"Okay, I think it's time to start heading out," Sakura said laughing nervously.

With that, the group was off. The walk to Haruhi's apartment complex was once again another pleasant yet silent walk. Occasionally Gaara and Haruhi would meet each other's gaze. The two would give each other a small smile. Haruhi did most of the smiling, but she didn't mind. Eventually they reached Haruhi's doorway. Her father was there waiting for her.

"Oh Haruhi, thank goodness you're here," Ranka said as he eyed the group.

"What is it dad? Is something wrong?" Haruhi asked concernedly at her father's strange tone.

"Oh no. Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to you about something. Why don't you say goodbye to your…friends and come inside," Ranka said with a weak smile as he continued to watch the group. Haruhi was slightly put off by her dad's strange behavior. She turned to face her body guards.

"Well. I guess this is goodnight guys. I'll see you tomorrow!" Haruhi said waving before following her father into the apartment. The trio waved back and watched until Haruhi was safely inside. The door clicking into a locked position. All the ninja's gave each other looks.

All agreed. Something felt wrong….

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_**See why I wanted to separate this chapter from the others? Lol. A chapter like this was bound to happen. It is Gaara we're talking about here. However, never fear! This will probably one of the more "serious" chapters. More super happy fun time to come in the next chapter, I promise! Tamaki shall be returning. =D**_


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